  Coherent optical information storage capacity of an atomic Bose-Einstein
condensate is examined. Theory of slow light propagation in atomic clouds is
generalized to short pulse regime by taking into account group velocity
dispersion. It is shown that the number of stored pulses in the condensate can
be optimized for a particular coupling laser power, temperature and interatomic
interaction strength. Analytical results are derived for semi-ideal model of
the condensate using effective uniform density zone approximation. Detailed
numerical simulations are also performed. It is found that axial density
profile of the condensate protects the pulse against the group velocity
dispersion. Furthermore, taking into account finite radial size of the
condensate, multi-mode light propagation in atomic Bose-Einstein condensate is
investigated. The number of modes that can be supported by a condensate is
found. Single mode condition is determined as a function of experimentally
accessible parameters including trap size, temperature, condensate number
density and scattering length. Quantum coherent atom-light interaction schemes
are proposed for enhancing multi-mode light propagation effects.
