Quantum Optics with Single Atoms and Photons

Abstract

Abstract : This research program investigated the dynamics of open quantum systems in manifestly quantum or nonclassical domains. The research program exploited recently discovered possibilities in the microscopic realm of quantum mechanics to accomplish tasks that would otherwise be impossible by traditional classical means, including new capabilities for precision measurement and for the processing and distribution of information. Within this setting, the particular investigations related to strong coupling in optical physics whereby nonlinear interactions require only single atoms and photons. The research achieved capabilities beyond traditional nonlinear optics and laser physics and moved into a new regime with dynamical processes involving atoms and photons taken one by one. The research program addressed fundamental issues related to quantum metrology, to quantum communications, and to the general development of quantum information sciences. The most important accomplishments of this work have been the following: (1) The first demonstration of a laser that operates with a single atom; (2) The first realization of a deterministic source for single photons that generates single photons "on demand" from one atom trapped in a cavity; (3) The development of a protocol for the real-time determination of the number of trapped atoms inside an optical cavity in a regime of strong coupling, with N = 0,1,2,3...atoms; and (4) The first experiment to achieve manifestly quantum or nonclassical photon correlations suitable for the implementation of scalable quantum communications networks.