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Science

Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics: Coherence in Context

Hideo Mabuchi, Andrew C. Doherty

Published Nov 14, 2002• 698 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Modern cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity QED) illuminates the most fundamental aspects of coherence and decoherence in quantum mechanics. Experiments on atoms in cavities can be described by elementary models but reveal intriguing subtleties of the interplay of coherent dynamics with external couplings. Recent activity in this area has pioneered powerful new approaches to the study of quantum coherence and has fueled the growth of quantum information science. In years to come, the purview of cavity QED will continue to grow as researchers build on a rich infrastructure to attack some of the most pressing open questions in micro- and mesoscopic physics.

DOI
10.1126/science.1078446

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Modern cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity QED) illuminates the most fundamental aspects of coherence and decoherence in quantum mechanics. Experiments on atoms in cavities can be described by elementary models but reveal intriguing subtleties of the interplay of coherent dynamics with external couplings. Recent activity in this area has pioneered powerful new approaches to the study of quantum coherence and has fueled the growth of quantum information science. In years to come, the purview of cavity QED will continue to grow as researchers build on a rich infrastructure to attack some of the most pressing open questions in micro- and mesoscopic physics.
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Cavity quantum electrodynamics (cavity QED) describes the interactions of single atoms and single photons in a resonator. In the laboratory, state-of-the-art experiments are able to observe the dynamics of these simple yet fundamental quantum systems. The recent development of quantum information science has also introduced a new role for cavity QED systems as quantum interfaces, in which information can be coherently mapped between photonic and atomic quantum bits. Groundbreaking optical cavity QED experiments in the past twenty years would not have been possible without the technological development of mirror coatings with extremely low scatter and absorption losses. Thermal noise has typically played a smaller role in cavity QED experiments but in certain instances is nevertheless important to consider. In this chapter, we begin with an overview of optical cavity QED experiments and some of the central questions that they address. It is hoped that this description, while by no means exhaustive, will provide a window for the nonspecialist into basic techniques and motivations in the field. We then turn to focus on the roles played by scattering and absorption loss and mechanical loss. We discuss how these losses have set limits on feasible experiments and the extent to which improvements may be possible. Experimental realizations of cavity QED systems An idealized cavity QED system consists of one atom placed between two highly reflective mirrors (Figure 17.1). In this model, a single atomic transition interacts with photons in a single cavity mode; the atom is often pictured at an antinode of the cavity standing wave, where it has a maximal dipole interaction with the cavity field.
Starting with early experiments about lifetimes of excited atoms near metallic boundaries, I review the evolution of Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics in the microwave and in the optical domains. The coherent coupling of single atoms with photons in high-Q cavities has led to the demonstration of fundamental quantum effects in light-matter interaction processes and to the generation of micromasers and microlasers emitting radiation with non-classical properties. It has made possible the development of single photon light sources and efficient detectors of single atoms as well as the implementation of quantum information and communication procedures in which atoms and photons play the roles of quantum bits. Mesoscopic superpositions of field states have been generated by entangling single atoms to fields made of many photons and the decoherence of these states has been studied, shedding new light on the quantum to classical boundary. Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics has also led recently to the quantum non-demolition counting of photons in a cavity, opening new perspectives for studying non-classical states of radiation. These atomic physics experiments are now extended - with promising applications in perspective - to the study of solid-state devices with microcavities built on substrates and coupled to artificial atoms such as quantum dots or superconducting junctions.
Recent experimental advances in the field of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) have opened new possibilities for control of atom‐photon interactions. A laser with “one and the same atom” demonstrates the theory of laser operation pressed to its conceptual limit. The generation of single photons on demand and the realization of cavity QED with well defined atomic numbers N = 0, 1, 2,… both represent important steps toward realizing diverse protocols in quantum information science. Coherent manipulation of the atomic state via Raman transitions provides a new tool in cavity QED for in situ monitoring and control of the atom‐cavity system. All of these achievements share a common point of departure: the regime of strong coupling. It is thus interesting to consider briefly the history of the strong coupling criterion in cavity QED and to trace out the path that research has taken in the pursuit of this goal.
Since the photon box gedanken experiments of several of the founding fathers of modern physics, considerable progress has been made in differentiating the quantum and classical worlds. In this pursuit, the cavity as an open quantum system has been indispensable. From the quantization of the atom and field within a superconducting cavity, a unique realm of EPR type entanglement has emerged. In this way, dynamical evolution of the system in the strong coupling regime is intimately tied with the coupling of an atom with a single resonant or non-resonant mode within the cavity. More specifically, the cavity can be prepared so that the atom is detected in a desired state. Here, the essentials of the strong coupling regime of Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics (QED) are reviewed for cavities tuned with a single atomic transition. A brief introduction of the systems is followed by an approach of the more striking effects, leading towards Ramsey Interferometry and Quantum Non-Demolition measurements as means for quantum gate protocol. Because the integrity of the atom and photon states is important for the advancement of quantum computation, a brief discussion of the decoherence problems is also presented. This document is meant to introduce the topic in a way that makes it easily accessible to those working in closely related areas of physics, and to highlight key applications and some basic questions concerning decoherence and the measurement problem.
Cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) offers powerful possibilities for the deterministic control of atom-photon interactions quantum by quantum [1]. Indeed, modern experiments in cavity QED have achieved the exceptional circumstance of strong coupling, for which single quanta can profoundly impact the dynamics of the atom-cavity system. The diverse accomplishments of this field set the stage for advances into yet broader frontiers in quantum information science for which cavity QED offers unique advantages, such as the realization of quantum networks by way of multiple atom-cavity systems linked by optical interconnects [2,3].