Abstract
A general quantum theory of self-induced transparency (SIT) solitons is developed with nonlinear quantum effects of atoms taken into account. The quantization starts from the coarse-grain-averaged light-atom interaction Hamiltonian by which the quantum effects of ensemble atoms are modeled. The calculation of quantum properties is performed by the backpropagation method, which takes into account the contribution of the field continuum parts and the atomic fluctuations. The detectable squeezing ratio with a general homodyne local oscillator can be simulated for practical experimental realizations. Schemes for generating quantum correlation through SIT soliton interaction are also proposed and analyzed. © 2009 The American Physical Society.