Recording of resonance fluorescence from atomic beams

Eugeny N. Kotlikov, L. Yu. Khryashchev

Richard J. Cook

C. Y. She, W. M. Fairbank, Jr.

Using a single-clipped digital correlator, the burst of photons resulting from laser induced resonance fluorescence of a single atom as it passes through a laser beam can be recorded and its transit-time measured. By averaging many fluorescent atoms, the transport characteristics of these atoms in a gaseous system, such as diffusion, flow velocity, and chemical reaction rates can be conveniently determined by photon-burst correlation spectroscopy.

Thomas J. Mcilrath, Thomas J. McGee

H. J. Carmichael, P. D. Drummond, Daniel F. Walls +1 more

An analysis of photon correlation measurements for fluorescent light from a beam of two-level atoms is given where the number of pulse pairs n(τ) with time separation τ is recorded using a time-to-digital converter. These measurements are shown to correspond precisely to a subsequently normalized second-order correlation function (i.e. the normalization is performed after time averaging).

Eleftherios Panagiotis Apostolidis, Lorenzo M. Narducci