dorsal/arxiv
View SchemaQuantum jumps of light recording the birth and death of a photon in a cavity
| Authors | Sébastien Gleyzes, Stefan Kuhr, Christine Guerlin, Julien Bernu, Samuel Deléglise, Ulrich Busk Hoff, Michel Brune, Jean-Michel Raimond, Serge Haroche |
|---|---|
| Categories | |
| ArXiv ID | quant-ph/0612031 |
| URL | https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0612031 |
| DOI | 10.1038/nature05589 |
| Journal | Nature 446 (15/03/2007) 297 |
Abstract
A microscopic system under continuous observation exhibits at random times sudden jumps between its states. The detection of this essential quantum feature requires a quantum non-demolition (QND) measurement repeated many times during the system evolution. Quantum jumps of trapped massive particles (electrons, ions or molecules) have been observed, which is not the case of the jumps of light quanta. Usual photodetectors absorb light and are thus unable to detect the same photon twice. They must be replaced by a transparent counter 'seeing' photons without destroying them3. Moreover, the light has to be stored over a duration much longer than the QND detection time. We have fulfilled these challenging conditions and observed photon number quantum jumps. Microwave photons are stored in a superconducting cavity for times in the second range. They are repeatedly probed by a stream of non-absorbing atoms. An atom interferometer measures the atomic dipole phase shift induced by the non-resonant cavity field, so that the final atom state reveals directly the presence of a single photon in the cavity. Sequences of hundreds of atoms highly correlated in the same state, are interrupted by sudden state-switchings. These telegraphic signals record, for the first time, the birth, life and death of individual photons. Applying a similar QND procedure to mesoscopic fields with tens of photons opens new perspectives for the exploration of the quantum to classical boundary.
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"abstract": "A microscopic system under continuous observation exhibits at random times\nsudden jumps between its states. The detection of this essential quantum\nfeature requires a quantum non-demolition (QND) measurement repeated many times\nduring the system evolution. Quantum jumps of trapped massive particles\n(electrons, ions or molecules) have been observed, which is not the case of the\njumps of light quanta. Usual photodetectors absorb light and are thus unable to\ndetect the same photon twice. They must be replaced by a transparent counter\n\u0027seeing\u0027 photons without destroying them3. Moreover, the light has to be stored\nover a duration much longer than the QND detection time. We have fulfilled\nthese challenging conditions and observed photon number quantum jumps.\nMicrowave photons are stored in a superconducting cavity for times in the\nsecond range. They are repeatedly probed by a stream of non-absorbing atoms. An\natom interferometer measures the atomic dipole phase shift induced by the\nnon-resonant cavity field, so that the final atom state reveals directly the\npresence of a single photon in the cavity. Sequences of hundreds of atoms\nhighly correlated in the same state, are interrupted by sudden\nstate-switchings. These telegraphic signals record, for the first time, the\nbirth, life and death of individual photons. Applying a similar QND procedure\nto mesoscopic fields with tens of photons opens new perspectives for the\nexploration of the quantum to classical boundary.",
"arxiv_id": "quant-ph/0612031",
"authors": [
"S\u00e9bastien Gleyzes",
"Stefan Kuhr",
"Christine Guerlin",
"Julien Bernu",
"Samuel Del\u00e9glise",
"Ulrich Busk Hoff",
"Michel Brune",
"Jean-Michel Raimond",
"Serge Haroche"
],
"categories": [
"quant-ph"
],
"doi": "10.1038/nature05589",
"journal_ref": "Nature 446 (15/03/2007) 297",
"title": "Quantum jumps of light recording the birth and death of a photon in a cavity",
"url": "https://arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/0612031"
},
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