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arXiv:quant-ph/0411147 · Physical Review Letters

Observation of sub-Poisson Photon Statistics in the Cavity-QED Microlaser

Wonshik Choi, Jai-Hyung Lee, Kyungwon An, Christopher M. Fang-Yen, Ramachandra Rao Dasari, Michael S. Feld

Published Mar 7, 2006• 49 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We have measured the second-order correlation function of the cavity-QED microlaser output and observed a transition from photon bunching to antibunching with increasing average number of intracavity atoms. The observed correlation times and the transition from super- to sub-Poisson photon statistics can be well described by gain-loss feedback or enhanced-reduced restoring action against fluctuations in photon number in the context of a quantum microlaser theory and a photon rate equation picture. However, the theory predicts a degree of antibunching several times larger than that observed, which may indicate the inadequacy of its treatment of atomic velocity distributions.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.96.093603

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We have measured the second-order correlation function of the cavity-QED microlaser output and observed a transition from photon bunching to antibunching with increasing average number of intracavity atoms. The observed correlation times and the transition from super- to sub-Poisson photon statistics can be well described by gain-loss feedback or enhanced-reduced restoring action against fluctuations in photon number in the context of a quantum microlaser theory and a photon rate equation picture. However, the theory predicts a degree of antibunching several times larger than that observed, which may indicate the inadequacy of its treatment of atomic velocity distributions.
Sub-Poisson field with much reduced fluctuations in a cavity can boost quantum precision measurements via cavity-enhanced light-matter interactions. Strong coupling between an atom and a cavity mode has been utilized to generate highly sub-Poisson fields. However, a macroscopic number of optical intracavity photons with more than 3 dB variance reduction has not been possible. Here, we report sub-Poisson field lasing in a microlaser operating with hundreds of atoms with well-regulated atom-cavity coupling and interaction time. Its photon-number variance was 4 dB below the standard quantum limit while the intracavity mean photon number scalable up to 600. The highly sub-Poisson photon statistics were not deteriorated by simultaneous interaction of a large number of atoms. Our finding suggests an effective pathway to widely scalable near-Fock-state lasing at the macroscopic scale.
The photon statistics of the light emitted from an atomic ensemble into a single field mode of an optical cavity is investigated as a function of the number of atoms. The light is produced in a Raman transition driven by a pump laser and the cavity vacuum, and a recycling laser is employed to repeat this process continuously. For weak driving, a smooth transition from antibunching to bunching is found for about one intracavity atom. Remarkably, the bunching peak develops within the antibunching dip. The observed behavior is well explained by a model describing an ensemble of independent emitters.
Summary form only given. The second-order correlation function of the intensity is a measurement of the intensity fluctuations and their enhancement or suppression relative to an ideal laser field. It is a sensitive probe of the dynamic processes involved in producing the light. We have measured the correlation function of the photons escaping from a cavity QED system consisting of a high-finesse interferometer traversed by an atomic beam of optically pumped Rb atoms. We observe nonclassical correlations, exhibiting antibunching and sub-Poissonian statistics.
Through calculating the quantum degree of second-order coherence and photon number distribution numerically, we investigate the coherence and statistics of a one-atom laser where a coherently driven two-level atom is coupled to a photonic crystal microcavity. By going beyond the previous theoretical studies, we show that in the presence of non-secular terms the cavity field displays a variable degree of second-order coherence as a function of discontinuities in the photonic density of states. The cavity field is characterized by photon antibunching and sub-Poissonian statistics for large discontinuities. In the case of a vanishing photonic density of states on the lower Mollow sideband, we can obtain only weak antibunching. If the jump in the photonic density of states is small, the bunching and super-Poissonian statistics field is generated in the cavity. Consequently, the cavity field exhibits certain non-classical features when non-secular interaction is included into the dynamics of the system. The theoretical analysis and numerical calculations presented here coincide with recent experimental observations.
We report the observation of multiple laser thresholds in the many-atom cavity QED microlaser. Traveling-wave coupling and a supersonic atom beam are used to create a well-defined atom-cavity interaction. Multiple thresholds are observed as jumps in photon number due to oscillatory gain. Although the number of intracavity atoms is large, up to $N\ensuremath{\sim}{10}^{3}$, the dynamics of the microlaser agree with a single-atom theory. This agreement is supported by quantum trajectory simulations of a many-atom microlaser and a semiclassical microlaser theory. We discuss the relation of the microlaser with the micromaser and conventional lasers.