Observation of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) in Rubidium using the Hanle Effect*

We have observed strong EIT signals in room temperature Rubidium vapor using an especially simple experimental setup involving just a single linearly polarized light beam and a collinear magnetic field. The use of a magnetic field to split the linearly polarized light into two effective beams of opposite circular polarization, and induce a Dark state between the Zeeman sublevels of the ground state is known as the Hanle configuration for EIT. We have also observed preliminary signatures of electromagnetically induced absorption (EIA).