We investigate the propagation of light with ultralow group velocity in a Bose-Einstein condensate where the phase is not uniform. The light is shown to couple strongly to the phase gradient of the condensate. The interaction between the light and the condensate enables us to perform a phase imprinting where the phase of the condensate is imprinted on the light. We illustrate the effect by showing how one can measure the fluctuating phase in an elongated quasicondensate.

• Received 9 May 2002

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.66.021603