Resonator-Aided Single-Atom Detection on a Microfabricated Chip

We use an optical cavity to detect single atoms magnetically trapped on an atom chip. We implement the detection using both fluorescence into the cavity and reduction in cavity transmission due to the presence of atoms. In fluorescence, we register 2.0(2) photon counts per atom, which allows us to detect single atoms with 75% efficiency in 250 microseconds. In absorption, we measure transmission attenuation of 3.3(3)% per atom, which allows us to count small numbers of atoms with a resolution of about 1 atom.Comment: 4.1 pages, 5 figures, and submitted to Physical Review Letter

DC field induced enhancement and inhibition of spontaneous emission in a cavity

We demonstrate how spontaneous emission in a cavity can be controlled by the application of a dc field. The method is specially suitable for Rydberg atoms. We present a simple argument for the control of emission.Comment: 3-pages, 2figure. accepted in Phys. Rev.

Importance of an Astrophysical Perspective for Textbook Relativity

The importance of a teaching a clear definition of the ``observer'' in special relativity is highlighted using a simple astrophysical example from the exciting current research area of ``Gamma-Ray Burst'' astrophysics. The example shows that a source moving relativistically toward a single observer at rest exhibits a time ``contraction'' rather than a ``dilation'' because the light travel time between the source and observer decreases with time. Astrophysical applications of special relativity complement idealized examples with real applications and very effectively exemplify the role of a finite light travel time.Comment: 5 pages TeX, European Journal of Physics, in pres

Maximizing the quality factor to mode volume ratio for ultra-small photonic crystal cavities

Small manufacturing-tolerant photonic crystal cavities are systematically designed using topology optimization to enhance the ratio between quality factor and mode volume, Q/V. For relaxed manufacturing tolerance, a cavity with bow-tie shape is obtained which confines light beyond the diffraction limit into a deep-subwavelength volume. Imposition of a small manufacturing tolerance still results in efficient designs, however, with diffraction-limited confinement. Inspired by numerical results, an elliptic ring grating cavity concept is extracted via geometric fitting. Numerical evaluations demonstrate that for small sizes, topology-optimized cavities enhance the Q/V-ratio by up to two orders of magnitude relative to standard L1 cavities and more than one order of magnitude relative to shape-optimized L1 cavities. An increase in cavity size can enhance the Q/V-ratio by an increase of the Q-factor without significant increase of V. Comparison between optimized and reference cavities illustrates that significant reduction of V requires big topological changes in the cavity

A simple derivation of the electromagnetic field of an arbitrarily moving charge

The expression for the electromagnetic field of a charge moving along an arbitrary trajectory is obtained in a direct, elegant, and Lorentz invariant manner without resorting to more complicated procedures such as differentiation of the Lienard-Wiechert potentials. The derivation uses arguments based on Lorentz invariance and a physically transparent expression originally due to J.J.Thomson for the field of a charge that experiences an impulsive acceleration.Comment: The following article has been accepted by the American Journal of Physics. After it is published, it will be found at http://scitation.aip.org/ajp; 12 pages, 1 figur

Improved qubit bifurcation readout in the straddling regime of circuit QED

We study bifurcation measurement of a multi-level superconducting qubit using a nonlinear resonator biased in the straddling regime, where the resonator frequency sits between two qubit transition frequencies. We find that high-fidelity bifurcation measurements are possible because of the enhanced qubit-state-dependent pull of the resonator frequency, the behavior of qubit-induced nonlinearities and the reduced Purcell decay rate of the qubit that can be realized in this regime. Numerical simulations find up to a threefold improvement in qubit readout fidelity when operating in, rather than outside of, the straddling regime. High-fidelity measurements can be obtained at much smaller qubit-resonator couplings than current typical experimental realizations, reducing spectral crowding and potentially simplifying the implementation of multi-qubit devices.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Decays in Quantum Hierarchical Models

We study the dynamics of a simple model for quantum decay, where a single state is coupled to a set of discrete states, the pseudo continuum, each coupled to a real continuum of states. We find that for constant matrix elements between the single state and the pseudo continuum the decay occurs via one state in a certain region of the parameters, involving the Dicke and quantum Zeno effects. When the matrix elements are random several cases are identified. For a pseudo continuum with small bandwidth there are weakly damped oscillations in the probability to be in the initial single state. For intermediate bandwidth one finds mesoscopic fluctuations in the probability with amplitude inversely proportional to the square root of the volume of the pseudo continuum space. They last for a long time compared to the non-random case

Color Fields on the Light-Shell

We study the classical color radiation from very high energy collisions that produce colored particles. In the extreme high energy limit, the classical color fields are confined to a light-shell expanding at $c$ and are associated with a non-linear $\sigma$-model on the 2D light-shell with specific symmetry breaking terms. We argue that the quantum version of this picture exhibits asymptotic freedom and may be a useful starting point for an effective light-shell theory of the structure between the jets at a very high energy collider.Comment: 11 pages, no figure

Squeezed single-atom laser in a photonic crystal

We study non-classical and spectral properties of a strongly driven single-atom laser engineered within a photonic crystal that facilitates a frequency-dependent reservoir. In these studies, we apply a dressed atom model approach to derive the master equation of the system and study the properties of the dressed laser under the frequency dependent transition rates. By going beyond the secular approximation in the dressed-atom cavity field interaction, we find that if, in addition, the non-secular terms are included into the dynamics of the system, then non-linear processes can occur that lead to interesting new aspects of cavity field behavior. We calculate variances of the quadrature phase amplitudes and the incoherent part of the spectrum of the cavity field and show that they differ qualitatively from those observed under the secular approximation. In particular, it is found that the non-linear processes lead to squeezing of the fluctuations of the cavity field below the quantum shot noise limit. The squeezing depends on the relative population of the dressed states of the system and is found only if there is no population inversion between the dressed states. Furthermore, we find a linewidth narrowing below the quantum limit in the spectrum of the cavity field that is achieved only when the secular approximation is not made. An interpretation of the linewidth narrowing is provided in terms of two phase dependent noise (squeezing) spectra that make up the incoherent spectrum. We establish that the linewidth narrowing is due squeezing of the fluctuations in one quadrature phase components of the cavity field.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Two-particle Aharonov-Bohm effect and Entanglement in the electronic Hanbury Brown Twiss setup

We analyze a Hanbury Brown Twiss geometry in which particles are injected from two independent sources into a mesoscopic electrical conductor. The set-up has the property that all partial waves end in different reservoirs without generating any single particle interference. There is no single particle Aharonov-Bohm effect. However, exchange effects lead to two-particle Aharonov-Bohm oscillations in current correlations. We demonstrate that the two-particle Aharonov-Bohm effect is connected to orbital entanglement which can be used for violation of a Bell Inequality.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, discussion of postselected electron-electron entanglement adde