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Nonlinear Optics

Mazer action. A new kind of induced emission

Marlan O. Scully

Published Nov 27, 2002• 2 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The abrupt change in the atom-field coupling strength which an atom experiences upon passing into and out of a micromaser cavity leads to changes in the atomic center-of-motion. Very slow (laser-cooled) atoms, however, can be reflected from or tunnel through the cavity, and in the process undergo a new kind of induced emission.
DOI
10.1109/nlo.1998.710233

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We calculate the spectrum of the micromaser with quantized motion of the pump atoms [M. O. Scully, G. M. Meyer, and H. Walther, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4144 (1996)] in different velocity regimes. We show that when the kinetic energy of the pump atoms is comparable to the atom-field interaction energy the spectrum of the cavity field is no longer centered at the cavity frequency. In the case of very slow atoms huge broadenings and shifts occur in the vicinity of the mazer resonances. We present approximate analytical results for the spectrum that allow a comparison with the exact numerical calculations.

Physical Review A•Nov 1, 1997•71 citations
The abrupt change in the atom-field coupling strength which an atom experiences upon passing into and out of a micromaser cavity leads to changes in the atomic center-of-mass motion. For fast (thermal) atoms, small momentum changes give rise to stimulated emission. Very slow (laser-cooled) atoms, however, can be reflected from or tunnel through the cavity, and in the process undergo a new kind of induced emission. This changes the photon statistics of the micromaser completely. Resonances occur for particular values of the interaction length.
The photon emission probability in a micromaser changes drastically when the kinetic energy of the pumping atoms is comparable to the atom-field interaction energy. In this situation, the atomic center-of-mass motion has to be treated quantum mechanically and the de Broglie wavelength of the atom inside the cavity is an important physical parameter. The interplay between reflection and transmission of the atoms leads to a new mechanism for induced emission. A photon is emitted by an excited atom when the de Broglie wavelength fits resonantly into the cavity. These resonances lead to the process of microwave amplification via zzz-motion-induced emission of radiation (mazer). We derive and illustrate a general expression for the emission probability and a master equation for the mazer. We note that the probability for emission by an excited thermal atom (stimulated maser emission) is very different from the emission probability as given by the de Broglie resonances (induced mazer emission).
A short review of the theoretical studies of the cold atom micromaser (mazer) is presented. Existing models are then improved by considering more general working conditions. Especially, the mazer physics is investigated in the situation where a detuning between the cavity mode and the atomic transition frequency is present. Interesting new effects are pointed out. Especially, it is shown that the cavity may slow down or speed up the atoms according to the sign of the detuning and that the induced emission process may be completely blocked by use of a positive detuning. The transmission probability of ultracold atoms through a micromaser is also studied and we generalize previous results established in the resonant case. In particular, it is shown that the velocity selection of cold atoms passing through the micromaser can be very easily tuned and enhanced using a nonresonant field inside the cavity. This manuscript is a summary of Martin's master thesis and articles [Phys. Rev. A 67, 053804 (2003)] and [Eur. Phys. J. D 29, 133 (2004)].
In this paper we report on atomic interferometry in the micromaser. The experimentally observed interferences are due to the non-adiabatic mixing of dressed states of the atoms at the entrance and exit holes of the maser cavity, leading to Ramsey-type two-field interaction. The observations are explained on the basis of the micromaser theory. Statistical properties of the maser field are investigated via a measurement of the statistics of the pump atoms that leave the maser cavity. Theoretical expressions for the time dependence of the Fano-Mandel-parameter QA(t) are compared with the experimental data. We demonstrate, that metastability of the maser field and atomic interference strongly influence the approach to a steady state value of QA(t). Furthermore, a theoretical investigation of a maser pumped with ultra-cold atoms is discussed. The interplay between reflection and transmission events of the atoms leads to a photon emission probability that strongly depends on the quantized center-of-mass motion (z-motion) of the atoms. We demonstrate that this mazer operation can be completely different from the ordinary maser pumped by a beam of thermal atoms.
We calculate the spectrum of the micromaser with quantized motion of the pump atoms [M. O. Scully, G. M. Meyer, and H. Walther, Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 4144 (1996)] in different velocity regimes. We show that when the kinetic energy of the pump atoms is comparable to the atom-field interaction energy the spectrum of the cavity field is no longer centered at the cavity frequency. In the case of very slow atoms huge broadenings and shifts occur in the vicinity of the mazer resonances. We present approximate analytical results for the spectrum that allow a comparison with the exact numerical calculations.