High-precision three-dimensional atom localization via Kerr nonlinearity

Abstract

Recently, there have been many schemes for achieving high-dimensional atom localization via measuring the first-order linear susceptibility. Here, we present a new scheme for high-precision three-dimensional (3D) atom localization in a three-level atomic system based on the Kerr nonlinearity, which refers to the real part of the third-order nonlinear susceptibility. Due to the space-dependent atom-field interaction, the position information of the atom can be determined by measuring Kerr nonlinearity in 3D space. Interestingly, by properly varying the parameters of the system, we find that there is only a small sphere in 3D space, which means the probability of finding the atom at a particular position can be 100%. Our scheme not only shows a new way to achieve high-precision and high-efficiency 3D atom localization but also provides some potential applications in high-dimensional atom nanolithography.