Vortex-based all-optical manipulation of stored light at low light levels.

We exploit the giant cross-Kerr nonlinearity of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) system in ultracold atoms to implement vortex-based multimode manipulation of stored light at low light levels. Using image-bearing signal light fields with angular intensity profiles, sinusoidal grating structures with phase-only modulation can be azimuthally imprinted on the stored probe light field, where the nonlinear absorption loss can be ignored. Upon retrieval of the probe light, collinearly superimposed vortex modes can be generated in the far field. Considering the finite size of atomic gas, the Fraunhofer diffraction patterns of the retrieved probe fields and their spiral spectra are numerically investigated, where the diffracted vortex modes can be efficiently controlled by tuning the weak signal fields. Our studies not only exhibit a fundamental diffraction phenomenon with angular grating structures in EIT system, but also provide a fascinating opportunity to realize multidimensional quantum information processing for stored light in an all-optical manner.