  We introduce a protocol for dynamical dispersion engineering in an atomic
chain consisting of an ordered array of multi-level atoms with subwavelength
lattice constant. This chain supports dark states that are protected from
dissipation in the form of photon emission and can be understood as propagating
spin waves traveling along the array. By using an external control field with a
spatially-varying elliptical polarization we correlate internal and external
degrees of freedom of the array in a controllable way. The coherent control
over the atomic states translates into control over the group velocity of the
spin waves. A traveling excitation can be stored and released without
dissipation by adiabatically changing the control field amplitude. This
protocol is an alternative to the more conventional electromagnetically-induced
transparency, and exemplifies the rich physics born of the interplay between
coherent control and correlated decay.
