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Annual Meeting Optical Society of America

Dissipative quantum dynamics for two-state atoms in an optical cavity

Harry J. Kimble, R. J. Brecha, M. G. Raizen, Yaakov Shevy, R. J. Thompson, H. J. Carmichael

Published Jan 1, 1989• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Investigations of the radiative processes for the composite system of N two-state atoms coupled to the field of a high finesse optical cavity are reported. In an experiment employing an atomic beam of optically prepared sodium atoms (3S1/2, F = 2, mF = 2 → 3P3/2, F = 3, mF = 3 transition at 589 nm), we make direct spectroscopic measurements of the normal mode splitting for the coupled oscillator system of atoms and cavity field over a 20 ≤ N ≤ 600 range. Linewidth reduction below the atomic free-space width is observed and results from dynamic linewidth averaging due to the strong coherent interaction of atoms and cavity. The dependence of the normalmode structure on atom-cavity detuning is explored, and the decoupling of the system with detuning is described. A second experimental program employs a cesium atomic beam (6S1/2, F = 4, mF = 4 → 6P3/2, F = 5, mF = 5 transition at 852 nm), for which the single-atom coupling coefficient can be made larger than the free-space atomic and cavity damping rates. Our initial efforts are directed both toward the investigation of the spectroscopic properties of this system and toward the observation of photon antibunching for the field transmitted from the cavity. More generally our measurements of intensity correlations can be applied to the problem of continuous quantum measurement for a dissipative system.

DOI
10.1364/oam.1989.wdd2

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Annual Meeting Optical Society of America•Jan 1, 1991•0 citations
Investigations of the radiative processes for the composite system of N two-state atoms coupled to the field of a high finesse optical cavity are reported. In an experiment employing an atomic beam of optically prepared sodium atoms (3S1/2, F = 2, mF = 2 → 3P3/2, F = 3, mF = 3 transition at 589 nm), we make direct spectroscopic measurements of the normal mode splitting for the coupled oscillator system of atoms and cavity field over a 20 ≤ N ≤ 600 range. Linewidth reduction below the atomic free-space width is observed and results from dynamic linewidth averaging due to the strong coherent interaction of atoms and cavity. The dependence of the normalmode structure on atom-cavity detuning is explored, and the decoupling of the system with detuning is described. A second experimental program employs a cesium atomic beam (6S1/2, F = 4, mF = 4 → 6P3/2, F = 5, mF = 5 transition at 852 nm), for which the single-atom coupling coefficient can be made larger than the free-space atomic and cavity damping rates. Our initial efforts are directed both toward the investigation of the spectroscopic properties of this system and toward the observation of photon antibunching for the field transmitted from the cavity. More generally our measurements of intensity correlations can be applied to the problem of continuous quantum measurement for a dissipative system.
Of fundamental importance in quantum optics has been the investigation of the radiative coupling of a collection of atoms to the field of a resonant cavity1. Within this context we are conducting a research program to investigate the interaction of optically prepared two-state atoms with the fields of high finesse optical cavities. With regard to our specific observations, we have employed a sodium atomic beam apparatus to make direct spectroscopic measurements of the normal-mode splitting for the coupled oscillator system formed by the collective atomic polarization of N two-state atoms and a single mode of a resonator of finesse of approximately 2x10⁴. At the transition wavelength of 589 nm (³, S_(1/2), F = 2, m_F = 2→3 P_(3/2), m_F = 3 and for one of our spherical mirror standing-wave cavities, the relevant parameters for the system are as follows: transverse atomic decay rate γ_⊥ = 2πX5X10⁶/S, cavity damping rate K/γ⊥= 0.18, and single-atom coupling coefficient g/γ_⊥ = 0.2.
Experimental and theoretical investigations of the radiative processes of a collection of two-state atoms contained in a high-finesse optical cavity are reported. To make contact with previous work on this subject, we consider the usual regimens in which either the cavity or the atomic damping is dominant. However, of greater interest and relevance to our experiments is the regime of strong coupling that generates splittings and new features in the normal-mode structure of the composite atom-field system. We identify possible mechanisms for producing line shapes with subnatural linewidths. Our experimental investigations are conducted with two-state sodium atoms that interact with a single mode of an ultra-high-finesse optical cavity. The incoherent spectral density of the transmitted field is detected by optical heterodyne. We obtain good qualitative agreement between theory and experiment for the general features of the composite atom-field system as manifested in the spectral density of the transmitted field. Experiments to probe the response of the system to weak modulation of the incident field are in progress.
While for the most part quantum statistical processes in quantum optics are investigated in a weak coupling regime, it has recently become possible to realize experimentally optical systems for which the internal coupling coefficient g is comparable to the external dissipative rates. Within this context the subject of our investigation is the quantum dynamical processes for a collection of N two-state atoms strongly coupled to a single mode of a high finesse optical cavity, Our particular experiment consists of a small collection of Cesium atoms (6S1/2, F = 4 → 6P3/2, F = 5 transition at 852nm) interacting with the TEM00 mode of a spherical mirror cavity. The critical technical advance for this work is the attainment of extremely low loss mirrors for high finesse (103 – 106) and hence long photon lifetime even in a small cavity.[1]
While for the most part quantum statistical processes in quantum optics are investigated in a weak-coupling regime, it has recently become possible to realize experimentally systems for which the internal coupling coefficient g is comparable to the external dissipative rates. Within this context the subject of our investigation is the quantum dynamical processes for a collection of N two-state atoms strongly coupled to a single mode of a high finesse optical cavity. Our particular system consists of a collection of N~20 Cesium atoms (6S 1/2, f = 4– > 6P 3/2, f = 5 transition at 852 nm) interacting with the TEMoo mode of a spherical mirror cavity of finesse 4 × 104. Of principal importance are the single atom cooperativity parameter C1 = g 2/κγ and the saturation photon number no = g2/8γ 2, where (κ,γ) are the cavity and atomic decay rates. For our system, c1~1 and n0~0.5. In measurements of the joint probability of photoelectric detection we observe photon antibunching and sub-Poissonian photon statistics.1,2 An interpretation of our results in terms of quantum state reduction and interference in a dissipative dynamical setting is presented.2 We emphasize the decisive role played by the quantum fluctuations of a single atom (c1~1), which can result in a field of large variance even in the presence of N>1 atoms.
The radiative properties of atoms inside an optical cavity can be dramatically changed with respect to those in free space. In the strong-coupling limit, the reversible dipole interaction between an atom and the cavity field dominates the irreversible decay resulting from spontaneous emission and cavity damping. In this limit the atom and field can no longer be regarded as separate quantities but instead form a composite dynamic system. To enhance the dipole coupling constant and increase the photon storage time, our experiments are performed with a small cavity 1 mm long, with a finesse of 8 × 104. On average, 0.4 photons are sufficient to saturate the resonance transition at 852 nm for the cesium atoms used, while the cooperativity parameter for a single atom is 2. Optical bistability is studied in this system over the range 3 < N < 65 atoms inside the cavity, with the semiclassical theory predicting bistability for N > 5. We report observations of manifestly quantum effects in this regime, including photon antibunching and sub-Poissonian photon statistics, with the magnitude of these nonclassical effects observed to be largely independent of the number of intracavity atoms.