Hybridization Induced Transparency in composites of metamaterials and atomic media

We report hybridization induced transparency (HIT) in a composite medium consisting of a metamaterial and a dielectric. We develop an analytic model that explains HIT by coherent coupling between the hybridized local fields of the metamaterial and the dielectric or an atomic system in general. In a proof-of-principle experiment, we evidence HIT in a split ring resonator metamaterial that is coupled to alpha-lactose monohydrate. Both, the analytic model and numerical calculations confirm and explain the experimental observations. HIT can be considered as a hybrid analogue to electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) and plasmon-induced transparency (PIT). (C) 2011 Optical Society of America