Rapid refractive index enhancements via laser-mediated collectivity

The collective interaction via the environmental vacuum is investigated for a mixture of two different multi-atom ensembles in a moderately intense laser field. Due to the numerous inter-atomic couplings, the laser-dressed system may react sensitively and rapidly with respect to changes in the atomic and laser parameters. We show for weak probe fields that in the absence of absorption both the index of refraction and the group velocity may be modified strongly and rapidly due to the collectivity. (letter to the editor)