Stern–Gerlach effect of vector light bullets in a nonlocal Rydberg medium

Abstract

We show that stable (3+1)-dimensional vector light bullets with ultraslow propagating velocity and extreme low generation power can be realized in a cold Rydberg atomic gas. They can also be actively controlled by using a nonuniform magnetic field; especially, trajectories of their two polarization components can have significant Stern–Gerlach deflections. The results obtained are useful for revealing the nonlocal nonlinear optical property of Rydberg media and for measuring weak magnetic fields.