Tunable negative refraction without absorption via electromagnetically induced chirality

We show that negative refraction with minimal absorption can be obtained by means of quantum interference effects similar to electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT). Coupling a magnetic dipole transition coherently with an electric dipole transition leads to electromagnetically induced chirality, which can provide negative refraction without requiring negative permeability and also suppress absorption. This technique allows negative refraction in the optical regime at densities where the magnetic susceptibility is still small and with refraction/absorption ratios that are orders of magnitude larger than those achievable previously. Furthermore, the refractive index can be fine-tuned, which is essential for practical realization of subdiffraction-limit imaging. As with EIT, electromagnetically induced chirality should be applicable to a wide range of systems.