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Spectral Hole-Burning and Related Spectroscopies: Science and Applications

Single Atom Experiments

HERBERT WALTHER

Published Jan 1, 1992• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Recent experiments with the one-atom maser /1/ have demonstrated that it is possible to study the interaction of single Rydberg atoms with a single quantized mode /2/ of a resonant electromagnetic field in a superconducting cavity. The quality factor is high enough to observe the periodic energy exchange between the atom and the field. The statistical and discrete nature of the photon field leads to new dynamic characteristics such as collapse and revial in the Rabi nutation /3/. Most of the observed effects are purely quantum features /4/.

DOI
10.1364/shbl.1992.ma1

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Experiments on the interaction of a single atom with a single mode of a resonant electromagnetic field in a cavity are reviewed. The atoms used in these experiments were Rydberg atoms with a very large principal quantum number. Another important ingredient is a superconductivity cavity, the quality factor of which is high enough for a periodic energy exchange between atom and cavity field to be observed. The dynamics of the atom-field interaction predicted by theory was measured. Some of the features are explicitly a consequence of the quantum nature of the electromagnetic field: The statistical and discrete nature of the photon field leads to new dynamic characteristics such as collapse and revivals in the Rabi nutation.
Recent experiments with the one-atom maser1 have demonstrated that it is possible to study the interaction of single Rydberg atoms with a single quantized mode2 of a resonant electromagnetic field in a super conducting cavity. The quality factor is high enough to observe the periodic energy exchange between the atom and field. The statistical and discrete nature of the photon field leads to new dynamic characteristics such as collapse and revival in the Rabi nu tation.3 Most of the observed effects are purely quantum features.4
Experiments with the one-atom maser1 have demonstrated that it is possible to study the interaction of a single atom with a single-mode of a resonant electromagnetic field in a cavity. The atoms used in these experiments are Rydberg atoms with a very large principal quantum number. Another important ingredient is the superconducting cavity: The quality factor is high enough for a periodic energy exchange between atom and cavity field to be observed; i.e., the relaxation time of the cavity field is larger than the characteristic time of the atom-field interaction, which is given by the reciprocal of the Rabi frequency. It is therefore possible to perform experiments on the dynamics of the atom-field interaction. Some of the features are explicitly a consequence of the quantum nature of the electromagnetic field.2 With a new cavity (quality factor 3 × 1010) it could be demonstrated that the statistics of the photons in the cavity is sub-Poissonian; in suitable conditions it is even possible to generate number states. Using number states of the single-atom maser novel quantum interference experiments can be performed giving new insight in the wave particle duality.
The dynamics of the interaction of a single Rydberg atom with a single mode of an electromagnetic field in a superconducting cavity was investigated. Velocity-selected atoms were used and the evolution of the atomic inversion as atom and field exchange energy was observed. The quantum collapse and revival predicted by the Jaynes-Cummings model were demonstrated experimentally for the first time. The evaluation of the dynamic behavior of the atoms allows us to determine the statistics of the few photons in the cavity.
The development of a single-atom maser or a micromaser allows a detailed study of the atom–field interaction. The situation realized is very close to the ideal case of a single two-level atom interacting with a single-mode quantized field as treated in Section 6.2. In a micromaser a stream of two-level atoms is injected into a superconducting cavity with a high quality factor. The injection rate can be such that only one atom is present inside the resonator at any time. Due to the high quality factor of the cavity, the radiation decay time is much larger than the characteristic time of the atom–field interaction, which is given by the inverse of the single-photon Rabi frequency. Therefore, a field is built up inside the cavity when the mean time between the atoms injected into the cavity is shorter than the cavity decay time. A micromaser, therefore, allows sustained oscillations with less than one atom on the average in the cavity. The realization of a single-atom maser or a micromaser has been made possible due to the enormous progress in the construction of superconducting cavities together with the laser preparation of highly excited atoms called Rydberg atoms. The quality factor of the superconducting cavities is high enough for periodic energy exchanges between atom and cavity field to be observed. The interesting properties of the Rydberg atoms make them ideal for micromasers. In Rydberg atoms the probability of induced transitions between adjacent states becomes very large and scales as n 4 , where n denotes the principle quantum number.