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Journal of Modern Optics

How to catch an atom with single photons

Pepijn W. H. Pinkse, Thomas H. Fischer, Peter Maunz, Thomas Puppe, Gerhard Rempe

Published Nov 1, 2000• 29 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on trapping a single neutral atom in the standing-wave light field of a high-finesse optical cavity containing one photon on average, a single-photon optical trap, or SPOT for short. This trap has the novel feature that the light field is also used to observe the atom in real time. The oscillatory motion of the trapped atom induces well-resolved oscillations of the light intensity. Periodic structure is visible in the fourth-order intensity correlation function, attributed to long-distance flights of the atom along the standing wave. The finite duration of those flights provides evidence for cavity-mediated cooling of atoms. We discuss the various mechanisms determining the trapping time and compare the results with a quantum-jump Monte Carlo simulation to interpret the observed signals.

DOI
10.1080/09500340008232196

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We report on trapping a single neutral atom in the standing-wave light field of a high-finesse optical cavity containing one photon on average, a single-photon optical trap, or SPOT for short. This trap has the novel feature that the light field is also used to observe the atom in real time. The oscillatory motion of the trapped atom induces well-resolved oscillations of the light intensity. Periodic structure is visible in the fourth-order intensity correlation function, attributed to long-distance flights of the atom along the standing wave. The finite duration of those flights provides evidence for cavity-mediated cooling of atoms. We discuss the various mechanisms determining the trapping time and compare the results with a quantum-jump Monte Carlo simulation to interpret the observed signals.
Summary form only given. The strong coupling between an atom and the light field in an optical microresonator causes a single atom to alter the transmission of the cavity significantly, allowing its continuous observation. At the same time, the strong coupling leads to novel optical forces acting on the atom. It was predicted that it should be possible to trap an atom with single intracavity photons. Using an atomic fountain, we inject single ultracold neutral atoms in the standing-wave light field of a high-finesse optical cavity. When an atom is detected in the cavity, the laser light pumping the cavity is suddenly switched to a higher value. This increases the depth of the optical dipole potential and traps the atom in the cavity field.
We demonstrate feedback on the motion of a single neutral atom trapped in the light field of a high-finesse cavity. Information on the atomic motion is obtained from the transmittance of the cavity. This is used to implement a feedback loop in analog electronics that influences the atom's motion by controlling the optical dipole force exerted by the same light that is used to observe the atom. In spite of intrinsic limitations, the time the atom stays within the cavity could be extended by almost 30% beyond that of a comparable constant-intensity dipole trap.
A single neutral atom is trapped in a three-dimensional optical lattice at the center of a high-finesse optical resonator. Using fluorescence imaging and a shiftable standing-wave trap, the atom is deterministically loaded into the maximum of the intracavity field where the atom-cavity coupling is strong. After 5 ms of Raman sideband cooling, the three-dimensional motional ground state is populated with a probability of (89±2)%. Our system is the first to simultaneously achieve quantum control over all degrees of freedom of a single atom: its position and momentum, its internal state, and its coupling to light.
Summary form only given. The strong atom-photon coupling generated inside high-finesse optical micro cavity lets us detect a single atom trajectory in real time. Such a strong coupling is a candidate for trapping a single atom with a single photon. Dynamics of trapped atoms can be observed in situ and in real time by detecting intensity change on the transmission of a blue-shifted laser beam. We cooled down and trapped rubidium atoms by using conventional cell magneto optical trap (MOT) and launched them into the micro optical cavity which locates 35 mm above the MOT. By using this signal as trigger and changing the laser frequency, it is, in principle, possible to trap the atom in the cavity.
Two recent experiments are discussed which demonstrate real-time trapping and monitoring of single atoms within a high-finesse optical resonator. A single atom moving within the resonator generates large variations in the transmission of a weak probe laser, which are recorded in real time. These cavity QED signals are used to trigger ON a confining potential to trap the atom. In the first experiment, the confining potential is provided by the single-photon forces associated with the cavity QED interaction. An inversion algorithm allows individual atom trajectories to be reconstructed from the record of cavity transmission, and reveals single atoms bound in orbit by the mechanical forces associated with single photons. In a second experiment, an additional classical standing-wave dipole trap provides the trapping, enabling a 28 ms trap lifetime for single strongly coupled atoms.
In this thesis a single atom is trapped in the mode of a high-finesse cavity and used to generate single photons in a controlled way. Starting from a magneto-optical trap, rubidium atoms are loaded into an optical dipole-force trap and transported to the cavity. On arrival the atoms are trapped in another trap with a standing wave geometry and excited by a pump laser incident perpendicular to the cavity axis. With the help of cavity cooling forces, a single atom could then be selected and trapped for up to a minute. A sequence of laser pulses is applied to induce the emission of a stream of single photons from the atom. Up to 300000 photons could be generated from the same atom in this way. The single-photon character of the source is verified within a few seconds after which the photons can be distributed to an independent user while monitoring the presence of the atom.