4,747 research outputs found
Characterization of high finesse mirrors: loss, phase shifts and mode structure in an optical cavity
An extensive characterization of high finesse optical cavities used in cavity
QED experiments is described. Different techniques in the measurement of the
loss and phase shifts associated with the mirror coatings are discussed and
their agreement shown. Issues of cavity field mode structure supported by the
dielectric coatings are related to our effort to achieve the strongest possible
coupling between an atom and the cavity.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figure
Conditional evolution in single-atom cavity QED
We consider a typical setup of cavity QED consisting of a two-level atom
interacting strongly with a single resonant electromagnetic field mode inside a
cavity. The cavity is resonantly driven and the output undergoes continuous
homodyne measurements. We derive an explicit expression for the state of the
system conditional on a discrete photocount record. This expression takes a
particularly simple form if the system is initially in the steady state. As a
byproduct, we derive a general formula for the steady state that had been
conjectured before in the strong driving limit.Comment: 15 pages, 1 postscript figure, added discussion of mode
Information dynamics in cavity QED
A common experimental setup in cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) consists
of a single two-level atom interacting with a single mode of the
electromagnetic field inside an optical cavity. The cavity is externally driven
and the output is continuously monitored via homodyne measurements. We derive
formulas for the optimal rates at which these measurements provide information
about (i) the quantum state of the system composed of atom and electromagnetic
field, and (ii) the coupling strength between atom and field. We find that the
two information rates are anticorrelated.Comment: 11 pages, 1 figure, final versio
Trapping of Single Atoms with Single Photons in Cavity QED
Two recent experiments have reported the trapping of individual atoms inside
optical resonators by the mechanical forces associated with single photons
[Hood et al., Science 287, 1447 (2000) and Pinkse et al., Nature 404, 365
(2000)]. Here we analyze the trapping dynamics in these settings, focusing on
two points of interest. Firstly, we investigate the extent to which
light-induced forces in these experiments are distinct from their free-space
counterparts. Secondly, we explore the quantitative features of the resulting
atomic motion and how these dynamics are mapped onto variations of the
intracavity field. Not surprisingly, qualitatively distinct atomic dynamics
arise as the coupling and dissipative rates are varied. For the experiment of
Hood et al., we show that atomic motion is largely conservative and is
predominantly in radial orbits transverse to the cavity axis. A comparison with
the free-space theory demonstrates that the fluctuations of the dipole force
are suppressed by an order of magnitude. This effect is based upon the
Jaynes-Cummings eigenstates of the atom-cavity system and represents
qualitatively new physics for optical forces at the single-photon level. By
contrast, even in a regime of strong coupling in the experiment of Pinkse et
al., there are only small quantitative distinctions between the free-space
theory and the quantum theory, so it is not clear that description of this
experiment as a novel single-quantum trapping effect is necessary. The atomic
motion is strongly diffusive, leading to an average localization time
comparable to the time for an atom to transit freely through the cavity and to
a reduction in the ability to infer aspects of the atomic motion from the
intracavity photon number.Comment: 19 pages, 22 figure files, REVTEX, corrected spelling, LaTeX now
produces postscript which includes figures, minor changes to figures. Final
version to be published in Physical Review A, expanded summary of results in
introduction, minor changes to figures and tex
Retroactive quantum jumps in a strongly-coupled atom-field system
We investigate a novel type of conditional dynamic that occurs in the
strongly-driven Jaynes-Cummings model with dissipation. Extending the work of
Alsing and Carmichael [Quantum Opt. {\bf 3}, 13 (1991)], we present a combined
numerical and analytic study of the Stochastic Master Equation that describes
the system's conditional evolution when the cavity output is continuously
observed via homodyne detection, but atomic spontaneous emission is not
monitored at all. We find that quantum jumps of the atomic state are induced by
its dynamical coupling to the optical field, in order retroactively to justify
atypical fluctuations in ocurring in the homodyne photocurrent.Comment: 4 pages, uses RevTex, 5 EPS figure
Superradiance for atoms trapped along a photonic crystal waveguide
We report observations of superradiance for atoms trapped in the near field
of a photonic crystal waveguide (PCW). By fabricating the PCW with a band edge
near the D transition of atomic cesium, strong interaction is achieved
between trapped atoms and guided-mode photons. Following short-pulse
excitation, we record the decay of guided-mode emission and find a superradiant
emission rate scaling as for average atom number atoms, where
is the peak single-atom radiative decay
rate into the PCW guided mode and is the Einstein- coefficient
for free space. These advances provide new tools for investigations of
photon-mediated atom-atom interactions in the many-body regime.Comment: 11 pages, 10 figure
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