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arXiv:1006.2191 · Journal of Modern Optics

Interaction of light with a single atom in the strong focusing regime

Syed Abdullah Aljunid, Brenda Chng, Jianwei Lee, Martin Paesold, Gleb Maslennikov, Christian Kurtsiefer

Published Oct 23, 2010• 15 citations
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Abstract

We consider the near-resonant interaction between a single atom and a focused light mode, where the single atom localized at the focus of a lens can scatter a significant fraction of light. Complementary to previous experiments on extinction and phase shift effects of a single atom, here we report on the measurement of coherently backscattered light. The strength of the observed effect suggests combining strong focusing with a cavity to further enhance the field at the location of the atom. This could make scaling up to a network of several atom + cavity nodes more realistic due to significant technical simplification of the atom–light interface. We consider theoretically a nearly concentric cavity, which has a strongly focused optical mode. Simple estimates show that in such a case one can expect a significant single photon Rabi frequency.

DOI
10.1080/09500340.2010.522780

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We consider the near-resonant interaction between a single atom and a focused light mode, where the single atom localized at the focus of a lens can scatter a significant fraction of light. Complementary to previous experiments on extinction and phase shift effects of a single atom, here we report on the measurement of coherently backscattered light. The strength of the observed effect suggests combining strong focusing with a cavity to further enhance the field at the location of the atom. This could make scaling up to a network of several atom + cavity nodes more realistic due to significant technical simplification of the atom–light interface. We consider theoretically a nearly concentric cavity, which has a strongly focused optical mode. Simple estimates show that in such a case one can expect a significant single photon Rabi frequency.
In order to observe substantial interaction between single atoms and photons, cavities with a high finesse can be used to enhance the field at the location of an atom. Alternatively, an attempt can be made to tailor the spatial mode of a photon to closely match the mode corresponding to an electrical dipole transition of an atom by strong focusing [1]. In this paper, we present our experimental work on measurements of extinction and phase shift of a weak coherent beam due to the presence of an atom in the strongly focused part of a Gaussian light beam.
We characterize the interaction between a single atom or similar microscopic system and a light field via the scattering ratio. For this, we first derive the electrical field in a strongly focused Gaussian light beam, and then consider the atomic response. Following the simple scattering model, the fraction of scattered optical power for a weak coherent probe field leads to unphysical scattering ratios above 1 in the strong focusing regime. A refined model considering interference between the exciting and scattered field into finite-sized detectors or optical fibers is presented, and compared with experimental extinction measurements for various focusing strengths.
Abstract. We investigate the interaction between a single atom and a light field in the strong focusing regime. Such a configuration is subject to recent experimental work not only with atoms but also molecules and other atom-like systems as quantum dots. We derive the scattering probability for a photon from such a microscopic object modeled by a two-level system, starting with a Gaussian beam as the spatial mode of the light field. The focusing by an ideal lens is modeled using spherical wave fronts of a field compatible with Maxwell equations. Using a semi-classical approach for the atom-field interaction, we predict scattering probability of photons by a single atom of up to 98% for realistic focusing parameters. Experimental results for different focusing strengths are compared with our theoretical model. PACS numbers: 42.50Ct, 42.50Ex, 42.25BsInterfacing light and single atoms with a lens 2 1.
We measured the extinction of a focused light beam by a single 87Rb atom localized in an optical dipole trap and found a value of 7.2% for a focused Gaussian beam resonantly interacting with an atomic two-level system. Various models describing interaction of an atom with a focused light field are compared to explain our experimental result. Our experiment suggests that a strong coupling may be achieved without cavity assistance. This opens new perspectives for a development of an efficient atom-photon interface for Quantum Information processing.
Atom-photon interfaces are one of the building blocks of the future quantum information protocols. Accomplishing a strong interaction between the atom and the photons can be successfully done by high finesse and small mode volume cavities. However, this method requires sophisticated dielectric coatings and stabilization of the cavity against even small vibrations and small line width of those cavities impose higher input photon numbers if spontaneously emitted photons are to be used, which make it seem hard to scale up such atom-light interfaces to form quantum networks. An alternative method is to use a nearly concentric cavity, which has a strongly focused optical mode [1].