• Featured in Physics
  • Editors' Suggestion

Single Atom as a Mirror of an Optical Cavity

G. Hétet, L. Slodička, M. Hennrich, and R. Blatt
Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 133002 – Published 19 September 2011
Physics logo See Synopsis: Mirror, Mirror in Free Space
PDFHTMLExport Citation

Abstract

By tightly focusing a laser field onto a single cold ion trapped in front of a far-distant dielectric mirror, we could observe a quantum electrodynamic effect whereby the ion behaves as the optical mirror of a Fabry-Pérot cavity. We show that the amplitude of the laser field is significantly altered due to a modification of the electromagnetic mode structure around the atom in a novel regime in which the laser intensity is already changed by the atom alone. We propose a direct application of this system as a quantum memory for single photons.

  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Figure
  • Received 25 May 2011

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.107.133002

© 2011 American Physical Society

Synopsis

Key Image

Mirror, Mirror in Free Space

Published 22 September 2011

A Fabry-Pérot cavity exhibits the same behavior when an atom replaces a mirror.

See more in Physics

Authors & Affiliations

G. Hétet1, L. Slodička1, M. Hennrich1, and R. Blatt1,2

  • 1Institute for Experimental Physics, University of Innsbruck, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria
  • 2Institute for Quantum Optics and Quantum Information of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Article Text (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

Supplemental Material (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand

References (Subscription Required)

Click to Expand
Issue

Vol. 107, Iss. 13 — 23 September 2011

Reuse & Permissions
Access Options
Author publication services for translation and copyediting assistance advertisement

Authorization Required


×
×

Images

×

Sign up to receive regular email alerts from Physical Review Letters

Log In

Cancel
×

Search


Article Lookup

Paste a citation or DOI

Enter a citation
×