We present an experimental study of temporal retardation combined with temporal compression of weak laser pulses. The effect is optically controlled by the presence of another light pulse, although no coherent control is required. Probe pulse delays up to 13 ns and maximum compression factor of 3 were observed using few-ns-long laser pulses. We also present a theoretical model of pulse propagation that is able to reproduce the experimental results with fairly good accuracy.

• Received 23 April 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.86.063818