Detection and control of motion of signle atoms or ions in an optical cavity

Andreas Reiserer

Mojtaba Moazzezi, Yuri V. Rostovtsev

Using quantum coherence effects, we have developed a new technique of detection of motion of single atoms or ions in an optical cavity. We have theoretically demonstrated that the presence of a single atom or ion inside cavity leads to a shift in cavity frequency and phase of transmitted probe beams. It has been shown by the use of EIT technique, the change of the phase is extremely sensitive to probe detuning in the vicinity of resonance frequency and can be in the order of 10−4.

Tracy E. Northup

C. Di Fidio, W. Vogel

We propose a method for controlling the number of photons and motional quanta using a trapped ion in a leaky cavity. A Raman interaction is used to entangle the atomic motion and cavity field. Motional Fock states can be obtained upon detection of the photons leaking out of the cavity. The motional state can be converted upon request into a fixed number of photons, freely propagating outside the cavity.

D. A. Ivanov, T. Yu. Ivanova

Many interesting nonlinear effects are based on the strong interaction of motional degrees of freedom of atoms with an optical cavity field. Among them is the spatial self-organization of atoms in a pattern where the atoms group in either odd or even sites of the cavity-induced optical potential. An experimental observation of this effect can be simplified by using, along with the original cavity-induced feedback, an additional electronic feedback based on the detection of light leaking the cavity and the control of the optical potential for the atoms. Following our previous study, we show that this approach is more efficient from the laser power perspective than the original scheme without the electronic feedback.

Justin Brown, Brian Estey, Paul Hamilton +1 more