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Physical Review Letters

Generation of Nonclassical Motional States of a Trapped Atom

D. M. Meekhof, Christopher R. Monroe, B. E. King, Wayne M. Itano, David J. Wineland

Published Sep 9, 1996• 77 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report the creation of thermal, Fock, coherent, and squeezed states of motion of a harmonically bound 9 Be + ion. The last three states are coherently prepared from an ion which has been initially laser-cooled to the zero-point of motion. The ion is trapped in the regime where the coupling between its motional and internal states, due to applied (classical) radiation, can be described by a Jaynes-Cummings-type interaction. With this coupling, the evolution of the internal atomic state provides a signature of the number state distribution of the motion. PACS numbers:42.50.Vk, 32.80.Pj, 32.80.Qk Typeset using REVT E X Nonclassical states of the harmonic oscillator associated with a single mode of the radiation field (for example, squeezed states) have been a subject of considerable interest. One method for analyzing these states has been through the dynamics of a single, two-level atom which radiatively couples to the single mode radiation field. This system, described by the Ja...

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.77.2346

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(1) A technique for the preparation of Fock states of a harmonic oscillator strongly coupled to a single two-level atomic transition is proposed due to the observation of quantum jumps. Examples are taken from the fields of ion trapping and cavity QED, where number states of he quantized atomic motion and photon number states may be prepared respectively. (2) We discuss a scheme for preparing coherent squeezed states of motion in an ion trap based on the multichromatic excitation of a trapped ion by standing- and traveling-wave light fields. The squeezed state is produced when the beat frequency between two standing-wave light fields is equal to twice the trap frequency, and is indicated by a {open_quotes}dark resonance{close_quotes} in the fluorescence emitted by the ion.

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We report the creation of thermal, Fock, coherent, and squeezed states of motion of a harmonically bound 9 Be + ion. The last three states are coherently prepared from an ion which has been initially laser-cooled to the zero-point of motion. The ion is trapped in the regime where the coupling between its motional and internal states, due to applied (classical) radiation, can be described by a Jaynes-Cummings-type interaction. With this coupling, the evolution of the internal atomic state provides a signature of the number state distribution of the motion. PACS numbers:42.50.Vk, 32.80.Pj, 32.80.Qk Typeset using REVT E X Nonclassical states of the harmonic oscillator associated with a single mode of the radiation field (for example, squeezed states) have been a subject of considerable interest. One method for analyzing these states has been through the dynamics of a single, two-level atom which radiatively couples to the single mode radiation field. This system, described by the Ja...
We report the creation of thermal, Fock, coherent, and squeezed states of motion of a harmonically bound 9Be+{}^{9}{\mathrm{Be}}^{+}9Be+ ion. The last three states are coherently prepared from an ion which has been initially laser cooled to the zero point of motion. The ion is trapped in the regime where the coupling between its motional and internal states, due to applied (classical) radiation, can be described by a Jaynes-Cummings-type interaction. With this coupling, the evolution of the internal atomic state provides a signature of the number state distribution of the motion.
A single ion trapped in a harmonic potential and laser cooled at the node of a standing wave can be described in terms of the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian known in quantum optics. Similar to nonclassical states of light we propose to prepare nonclassical states of the ion motion in a harmonic trap. In particular, several schemes for the preparation of Fock states are presented, and techniques for the preparation of squeezed states and coherent states of the ion motion are indicated. For an observation of these nonclassical states we propose to measure quantum collapse and revival in the population inversion of a single trapped ion.
Summary form only given, as follows. The ability to create and completely characterize a variety of fundamental quantum states has long been sought after in the laboratory since it brings to the forefront issues involving the relationship between quantum and classical physics. The interaction of a trapped atom with classical laser light constitutes a simple and well-isolated quantum system that makes experiments along these lines possible. The motion of an ion trapped in a rf-trap can be described as a quantum harmonic oscillator. If the ion is driven by a classical light field, several interactions similar to and beyond the simple Jaynes-Cummings coupling can be realized. These couplings allow for precisely controlled engineering and measurement of quantum states. We create states having both classical and nonclassical character including thermal, number, coherent, squeezed, and Schrodinger cat states. The motional quantum state is fully reconstructed with use of two novel schemes that determine the density matrix in the number state basis and the Wigner function. Our techniques allow well-controlled experiments on decoherence and related phenomena on the quantum-classical borderline.
We report the creation and full determination of several quantum states of motion of a 9Be+ ion bound in a RF (Paul) trap. The states are coherently prepared from an ion which has been initially laser cooled to the zero-point of motion. We create states having both classical and non-classical character including thermal, number, coherent, squeezed, and ‚Schrödinger cat‘ states. The motional quantum state is fully reconstructed using two novel schemes that determine the density matrix in the number state basis or the Wigner function. Our techniques allow well controlled experiments decoherence and related phenomena on the quantum-classical borderline.
(1) A technique for the preparation of Fock states of a harmonic oscillator strongly coupled to a single two-level atomic transition is proposed due to the observation of quantum jumps. Examples are taken from the fields of ion trapping and cavity QED, where number states of he quantized atomic motion and photon number states may be prepared respectively. (2) We discuss a scheme for preparing coherent squeezed states of motion in an ion trap based on the multichromatic excitation of a trapped ion by standing- and traveling-wave light fields. The squeezed state is produced when the beat frequency between two standing-wave light fields is equal to twice the trap frequency, and is indicated by a {open_quotes}dark resonance{close_quotes} in the fluorescence emitted by the ion.