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We propose a coherent optical method for creating negative refractive index (NRI) for a gaseous ensemble of ground-state polar molecules possessing both permanent electric and magnetic moments. Exploiting the pure rotational transition between the two lowest rotational levels of the ground vibrational state one can generate two dressed states of mixed parity using a microwave laser. These dressed states are then used as the two lower states of a {\Lambda}-type three-level scheme using two infrared lasers to couple them to another ro-vibrational level in the ground-state manifold. One of the infrared lasers is used as a weak probe and the other as a control field with a fixed detuning. We take into account local-field effects on the dielectric response of the medium at the probe frequency in terms of Clausius-Mossoti relation. We extract magnetic response out of purely dielectric response and calculate the magnetic permeability of the medium in terms of dielectric susceptibility. Our results show that there is a small frequency window near the two-photon resonance where both electric permittivity and magnetic permeability are negative with vanishingly small absorption. The figure of merit for the medium is shown to exceed unity. We interpret our results in terms of the proximity of EIT and quantum interference. We discuss the possible realization of our method using cold polar molecules that are recently experimentally produced., Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures. Version-2 is substantially modified following referees comments

More than 65 years ago, Jost and Kohn [R. Jost and W. Kohn, {Phys. Rev.} {\bf 87}, 977 (1952)] derived an explicit expression for a class of short-range model potentials from a given effective range expansion with the $s$-wave scattering length $a_s$ being negative. For $a_s >0$, they calculated another class of short-range model potentials [R. Jost and W. Kohn, { Dan. Mat. Fys. Medd} {\bf 27}, 1 (1953)] using a method based on an adaptation from Gelfand-Levitan theory [I. M. Gel'fand and B. M. Levitan, { Dokl. Akad. Nauk. USSR} {\bf 77}, 557-560 (1951)] of inverse scattering. We here revisit the methods of Jost and Kohn in order to explore the possibility of modeling resonant finite-range interactions at low energy. We show that the Jost-Kohn potentials can account for zero-energy resonances. The $s$-wave phase shift for positive scattering length is expressed in an analytical form as a function of the binding energy of a bound state. We show that, for small binding energy, both the scattering length and the effective range are strongly influenced by the binding energy; and below a critical binding energy the effective range becomes negative provided the scattering length is large. As a consistency check, we carry out some simple calculations to show that Jost-Kohn potentials can reproduce the standard results of contact interaction in the limit of the effective range going to zero., 13 pages 5 figures. In this version, two new references are added and an error in the format of the paper is corrected

In a previous paper [B. Deb and G. S. Agarwal, Phys. Rev. A 90, 063417 (2014)], it was theoretically shown that, magneto-optical manipulation of low energy scattering resonances and atom-molecule transitions could lead to the formation of a bound state in continuum (BIC), provided there is no spontaneous emission. We find that even an exceedingly small spontaneous decay from exited molecular states can spoil the BIC. In this paper, we show how to circumvent the detrimental effect of spontaneous emission by making use of vacuum-induced coherence (VIC) which results in the cancellation or suppression of spontaneous emission. VIC occurs due to the destructive interference between two spontaneous decay pathways. An essential condition for VIC is the non-orthogonality of the transition dipole moments associated with the decays. Furthermore, the interference between decay pathways requires that the spacing between the two decaying states must be comparable to or smaller than the square root of the product of the two spontaneous linewidths. We demonstrate that these conditions can be fulfilled by microwave dressing of two appropriately chosen molecular excited states, opening a promising prospect for the experimental realization of BIC of cold atoms., Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures

We show theoretically that it is possible to form a cold molecular ion from a pair of colliding atom and ion at low energy by photoassociative two-photon Raman processes. We explore the possibility of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage from the continuum of ion–atom scattering states to an ionic molecular state. We provide physical conditions under which coherent population transfer is possible in stimulated Raman photoassociation. Our results are important for experimental realization of PA in ion–atom cold collisions.