Three-dimensional atom localization via spontaneous emission from two different decay channels

Abstract

We investigate the three-dimensional (3D) atom localization in an atomic system coupled by three coherent fields via spontaneous emission from two different decay channels. It is found that the spatial distribution and the precision of 3D atom localization are very different in two different decay channels. Interestingly, by properly varying the phase shifts of the standing-wave fields, the almost 100% probability of finding an atom in 3D space can be reached in two different decay channels. As a result, we can achieve efficient and high-precision 3D atom localization.