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Annual Meeting Optical Society of America

Field statistics in the micromaser induced by a collective measurement

K. Vogel, V. M. Akulin, W. P. Schleich

Published Jan 1, 1992• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We analyze a measurement strategy in which we first send N excited two-level atoms through a maser cavity and then measure the total excitation n of the atoms after their interaction with the maser field. In this case the field in the cavity after the measurement is governed by the quantum mechanical interference of probability amplitudes corresponding to all possible sequences of n excited and N − n de-excited atoms.

DOI
10.1364/oam.1992.wj5

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We analyze a measurement strategy in which we first send N excited two-level atoms through a maser cavity and then measure the total excitation n of the atoms after their interaction with the maser field. In this case the field in the cavity after the measurement is governed by the quantum mechanical interference of probability amplitudes corresponding to all possible sequences of n excited and N − n de-excited atoms.
In this paper we report on atomic interferometry in the micromaser. The atomic inversion is recorded while scanning the cavity frequency across the atomic resonance. For high pump rates, interference patterns are observed on the low-frequency wing of the maser line. The 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 a Ramsey-type two-field interaction. Furthermore, 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 Q A(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 Q A(t).
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.
Atomic interferences are observed in the micromaser when the inversion of the atoms leaving the cavity is measured while the cavity frequency is scanned across the atomic resonance. The interferences are due to the nonadiabatic mixing of dressed states at the entrance and exit holes of the maser cavity. The interference structures are triangular shaped and approximately equidistant. They are associated with the dynamics of the atom-field interaction, show quantum jumps, and demonstrate bistability of the micromaser field.
In this paper recent experiments with the one–atom maser or micromaser are reviewed. They deal with the dynamical behavior of the field at parameter values where the field undergoes phase transitions. Furthermore, atomic interferences are observed in the micromaser when the inversion of the atoms leaving the cavity is measured while the cavity frequency is scanned across the atomic resonance. The interferences are due to the non–adiabatic mixing of dressed states at the entrance and exit holes of the maser cavity. The interference structures are triangular shaped and approximately equidistant. They are associated with the dynamics of the atom–field interaction, show quantum jumps and demonstrate bistability of the micromaser field.
A micromaser in standard operation produces entangled two-level atoms. This entanglement can be investigated in the correlations of atoms leaving the micromaser cavity in the upper and lower maser levels. The correlations contribute to the stabilization of the photon number in the cavity and are thus vital for the generation of sub-Poissonian statistics in the maser field. We review how various statistical signatures for this entanglement are calculated in micromaser theory, and report recent measurements that demonstrate the case. Ways are described leading to an optimal entanglement for the atoms in the micromaser.
We describe the first investigation of the nonclassical radiation field of a micromaser. The maser cavity is cooled to 0.5 K to exclude thermal photons and has a quality factor 3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}1010{10}^{10}1010. Velocity-selected Rydberg atoms pump the maser. The photon statistics in the cavity are measured via the statistics of the atoms leaving the cavity in the lower maser level. Taking into account a detection efficiency of 10%, their fluctuations are reduced up to 40% below the Poisson level. This corresponds to photon-number fluctuations in the cavity of up to 70% below the vacuum-state limit.