435 research outputs found
Vacuum-Stimulated Raman Scattering based on Adiabatic Passage in a High-Finesse Optical Cavity
We report on the first observation of stimulated Raman scattering from a
Lambda-type three-level atom, where the stimulation is realized by the vacuum
field of a high-finesse optical cavity. The scheme produces one intracavity
photon by means of an adiabatic passage technique based on a counter-intuitive
interaction sequence between pump laser and cavity field. This photon leaves
the cavity through the less-reflecting mirror. The emission rate shows a
characteristic dependence on the cavity and pump detuning, and the observed
spectra have a sub-natural linewidth. The results are in excellent agreement
with numerical simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Collisional decay of 87Rb Feshbach molecules at 1005.8 G
We present measurements of the loss-rate coefficients K_am and K_mm caused by
inelastic atom-molecule and molecule-molecule collisions. A thermal cloud of
atomic 87Rb is prepared in an optical dipole trap. A magnetic field is ramped
across the Feshbach resonance at 1007.4 G. This associates atom pairs to
molecules. A measurement of the molecule loss at 1005.8 G yields K_am=2 10^-10
cm^3/s. Additionally, the atoms can be removed with blast light. In this case,
the measured molecule loss yields K_mm=3 10^-10 cm^3/s
Continuous loading of an electrostatic trap for polar molecules
A continuously operated electrostatic trap for polar molecules is
demonstrated. The trap has a volume of ~0.6 cm^3 and holds molecules with a
positive Stark shift. With deuterated ammonia from a quadrupole velocity
filter, a trap density of ~10^8/cm^3 is achieved with an average lifetime of
130 ms and a motional temperature of ~300 mK. The trap offers good starting
conditions for high-precision measurements, and can be used as a first stage in
cooling schemes for molecules and as a "reaction vessel" in cold chemistry.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures v2: several small improvements, new intr
Polarization-controlled single photons
Vacuum-stimulated Raman transitions are driven between two magnetic substates
of a rubidium-87 atom strongly coupled to an optical cavity. A magnetic field
lifts the degeneracy of these states, and the atom is alternately exposed to
laser pulses of two different frequencies. This produces a stream of single
photons with alternating circular polarization in a predetermined
spatio-temporal mode. MHz repetition rates are possible as no recycling of the
atom between photon generations is required. Photon indistinguishability is
tested by time-resolved two-photon interference.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
A Mott-like State of Molecules
We prepare a quantum state where each site of an optical lattice is occupied
by exactly one molecule. This is the same quantum state as in a Mott insulator
of molecules in the limit of negligible tunneling. Unlike previous Mott
insulators, our system consists of molecules which can collide inelastically.
In the absence of the optical lattice these collisions would lead to fast loss
of the molecules from the sample. To prepare the state, we start from a Mott
insulator of atomic 87Rb with a central region, where each lattice site is
occupied by exactly two atoms. We then associate molecules using a Feshbach
resonance. Remaining atoms can be removed using blast light. Our method does
not rely on the molecule-molecule interaction properties and is therefore
applicable to many systems.Comment: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference on Atomic Physics
(ICAP 2006), edited by C. Roos, H. Haffner, and R. Blatt, AIP Conference
Proceedings, Melville, 2006, Vol. 869, pp. 278-28
Antiresonance phase shift in strongly coupled cavity QED
We investigate phase shifts in the strong coupling regime of single-atom
cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED). On the light transmitted through the
system, we observe a phase shift associated with an antiresonance and show that
both its frequency and width depend solely on the atom, despite the strong
coupling to the cavity. This shift is optically controllable and reaches 140
degrees - the largest ever reported for a single emitter. Our result offers a
new technique for the characterization of complex integrated quantum circuits.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure
Continuous Centrifuge Decelerator for Polar Molecules
Producing large samples of slow molecules from thermal-velocity ensembles is
a formidable challenge. Here we employ a centrifugal force to produce a
continuous molecular beam with a high flux at near-zero velocities. We
demonstrate deceleration of three electrically guided molecular species,
CHF, CFH, and CFCCH, with input velocities of up to
to obtain beams with velocities below
and intensities of several .
The centrifuge decelerator is easy to operate and can, in principle, slow down
any guidable particle. It has the potential to become a standard technique for
continuous deceleration of molecules.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; version accepted for publication in PR
Normal-mode spectroscopy of a single bound atom-cavity system
The energy-level structure of a single atom strongly coupled to the mode of a
high-finesse optical cavity is investigated. The atom is stored in an
intracavity dipole trap and cavity cooling is used to compensate for inevitable
heating. Two well-resolved normal modes are observed both in the cavity
transmission and the trap lifetime. The experiment is in good agreement with a
Monte Carlo simulation, demonstrating our ability to localize the atom to
within at a cavity antinode.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Time-Resolved Two-Photon Quantum Interference
The interference of two independent single-photon pulses impinging on a beam
splitter is analysed in a generalised time-resolved manner. Different aspects
of the phenomenon are elaborated using different representations of the
single-photon wave packets, like the decomposition into single-frequency field
modes or spatio-temporal modes matching the photonic wave packets. Both
representations lead to equivalent results, and a photon-by-photon analysis
reveals that the quantum-mechanical two-photon interference can be interpreted
as a classical one-photon interference once a first photon is detected. A novel
time-dependent quantum-beat effect is predicted if the interfering photons have
different frequencies. The calculation also reveals that full two-photon fringe
visibility can be achieved under almost any circumstances by applying a
temporal filter to the signal.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure
Trapping of Neutral Rubidium with a Macroscopic Three-Phase Electric Trap
We trap neutral ground-state rubidium atoms in a macroscopic trap based on
purely electric fields. For this, three electrostatic field configurations are
alternated in a periodic manner. The rubidium is precooled in a magneto-optical
trap, transferred into a magnetic trap and then translated into the electric
trap. The electric trap consists of six rod-shaped electrodes in cubic
arrangement, giving ample optical access. Up to 10^5 atoms have been trapped
with an initial temperature of around 20 microkelvin in the three-phase
electric trap. The observations are in good agreement with detailed numerical
simulations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
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