The regime of electromagnetically induced transparency in optically dense media: from atoms to excitons

The phenomenon of electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) was discovered by Adriano Gozzini and coworkers in 1976 in Pisa. Novel schemes to investigate and exploit EIT in the optical domain have attracted much interest both in atomic and solid state systems. We discuss some of our recent theoretical results, in particular: i) a well developed EIT regime based on free exciton levels in undoped bulk crystalline Cu2O; ii) light dragging effects in moving media under EIT; iii) the coherent control of Cherenkov radiation in the EIT regime