Ultraslow Group Velocity and Enhanced Nonlinear Optical Effects in a Coherently Driven Hot Atomic Gas

We report the observation of small group velocities of order 90 m/s and large group delays of greater than 0.26 ms, in an optically dense hot rubidium gas ( $\ensuremath{\approx}360\mathrm{K}$). Media of this kind yield strong nonlinear interactions between very weak optical fields and very sharp spectral features. The result is in agreement with previous studies on nonlinear spectroscopy of dense coherent media.