All-Optical Control of Light Group Velocity with a Cavity Optomechanical System

Abstract: We theoretically demonstrate complete all-optical control of light group velocity via a cavity optomechanical system composed of an optical cavity and a mechanical resonator. The realization depends on no specific materials inside the cavity, and the control of light group velocity stems from the interaction between the signal light and the moving optical diffraction grating within the cavity in analogy to the stimulated Brillouin scattering(SBS). Furthermore, we show that a tunable switch from slow light to fast light can be achieved only by simply adjusting the pump-cavity detuning. The scheme proposed here will open a novel way to control light velocity by all-optical methods in optomechanical systems.