Continuous retrieval of delayed Raman polaritons

We use a Raman four-wave mixing process to read out light from an atomic coherence which is continuously written. This realizes a continuous source of polaritons having been delayed or effectively stored for a finite duration. Contrary to slow-light delay, which depends on the atom number and population distribution, here the effective storage duration is determined solely by intensive properties of the system, approaching the ground-state natural lifetime at the weak driving limit. The generated polaritons are background free. We experimentally probe these properties utilizing spatial atomic diffusion as an ’internal clock’ for the write-read delay. A continuous source of delayed polaritons can replace discrete write-read procedures when the atomic evolution is the subject of interest, for example, when dipolar interactions lead to retrieval of non-classical light.