Vacuum-Stimulated Raman Scattering Based on Adiabatic Passage in a High-Finesse Optical Cavity

We report on the first observation of stimulated Raman scattering from a Λ-type three-level atom, where the stimulation is realized by the vacuum field of a high-finesse optical cavity. The scheme produces one intracavity photon by means of an adiabatic passage technique based on a counterintuitive interaction sequence between pump laser and cavity field. This photon leaves the cavity through the less-reflecting mirror. The emission rate shows a characteristic dependence on the cavity and pump detuning, and the observed spectra have a subnatural linewidth. The results are in excellent agreement with numerical simulations.