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Physical Review A

Laserlike and atomlike regimes in a one-atom laser

A. David. Boozer

Published Nov 10, 2008• 14 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We consider a three-level model of a one-atom laser, and show that there are two limiting regimes of parameter space, one in which the system behaves like a conventional laser and one in which the system exhibits novel quantum properties. We show that in the first limiting regime, the model can be approximated by semiclassical laser theory, and in the second limiting regime the model can be approximated as an effective two-level atom. We also perform numerical simulations that confirm the limiting behaviors predicted by these approximate descriptions.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.78.053814

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We present a detailed numerical study of the one-atom laser, that is, a single two-level atom interacting with one lasing mode, whereby both the atom and the photon field are coupled to reservoirs. The stationary as well as the dynamical properties of the model are calculated directly from the quantum master equation with the help of two numerical methods. These numerical methods do not need any quasi-probability representation and they do not require approximations. We find that the one-atom laser exhibits most of the typical features of a normal laser. In the region far below threshold some aspects, among them the linewidth, are changed due to eigenvalues of the master equation with imaginary parts. In this regime the complexity of the eigenvalues prominently enters the dynamical behavior.
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We propose the implementation of a strongly-driven one-atom laser, based on the off-resonant interaction of a three-level atom in Lambda\\LambdaLambda-configuration with a single cavity mode and three laser fields. We show that the system can be described equivalently by a two-level atom coupled to the cavity and driven by a strong effective coherent field, yielding Schr\\"odinger cat states. The effective dynamics can be solved exactly, including a thermal field bath, allowing an analytical description of field statistics and entanglement properties, as well as of the environment-induced decoherence of atom-field pure states. Finally, we propose a way to monitor the decoherence of these states by measuring atomic populations and confirm the validity of our model through full numerical solutions.
Abstract This article investigates the quantum and semi-classical aspects of a three-level atom-cavity system within the context of cavity quantum electrodynamics. The study examines the behavior of the system through a quantum perspective and a semi-classical approximation. The steady-state master equation is solved in the atom-cavity basis, resulting in a closed set of equations describing the atom’s level occupancies and the cavity’s photon number. The accuracy of the semi-classical approximation is assessed by comparing it with quantum simulations. The research analyzes the system’s behavior near the laser threshold, highlighting the interplay between semi-classical and quantum behaviors. Additionally, the conversion of the three-level atom to a two-level atom is explored under specific conditions, enabling an investigation into the weak driving limit. Quantum simulation results are used to validate the proposed approximations. This work contributes to the understanding of atom-cavity interactions and provides insights into the transition from semi-classical to quantum behavior in such systems.