Electromagnetically induced transparency in thermal Rydberg atoms: superatom model with finite Doppler broadening

We study the steady optical responses of a cold atomic ensemble driven into the three-level ladder configuration involving a Rydberg state at finite temperatures. By improving the superatom model with thermal movement included, we calculate relevant atomic coherence effects and find that the residual Doppler broadening at the mK–K temperatures will weaken the nonclassical properties of transmitted probe photons. Furthermore, propagation directions of the probe and coupling fields have a great influence on various properties related to electromagnetically induced transparency. That is, the residual Doppler effect is more destructive to relevant atomic coherence effects in the co-propagation case but can be partially eliminated in the counter-propagation case.