Trapped atoms in cavity QED: coupling quantized light and matter

Abstract

On the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of Albert Einstein's annus mirabilis, we reflect on the development and current state of research in cavity quantum electrodynamics in the optical domain. Cavity QED is a field which undeniably traces its origins to Einstein's seminal work on the statistical theory of light and the nature of its quantized interaction with matter. In this paper, we emphasize the development of techniques for the confinement of atoms strongly coupled to high-finesse resonators and the experiments which these techniques enable.(Some figures in this article are in colour only in the electronic version) From Einstein to cavity QEDIn the years prior to his seminal 1905 papers, Albert Einstein had given much thought to the statistical properties of electromagnetic fields [1], especially with regard to the theory of black-body radiation developed by Max Planck [2]. Einstein realized that the quantization of light-particularly the creation and annihilation of 'light quanta'-is something more fundamental than a tacit consequence of the assumption that the total energy of a black-body is discretely distributed between a set of microstates. Beginning in 1905 with On a heuristic point of view about the creation and conversion of light [3] and in four subsequent papers on quantization [4][5][6][7], he laid the foundations of the 'old quantum theory ' [8], summarized in what is commonly referred to as the 'light quantization hypothesis':. . . the energy of a light ray emitted from a point [is] not continuously distributed over an ever increasing space, but consists of a finite number of energy quanta which are localized at points in space, which move without dividing, and which can only be produced and absorbed as complete units [3].

Electromagnetically-induced-transparency control of single-atom motion in an optical cavity

“…Experimental implementations include trapped ions [3], atoms [4][5][6], artificial superconducting qubits [7], and opto-mechanical devices [8]. In these platforms, the strong coupling between photons and emitters is utilized to coherently transfer quantum information between stationary qubits at the nodes and flying qubits acting as interconnects.…”

Rate-equation approach to cavity-mediated laser cooling

“…Realizing a very strong coupling between a trapped particle and the field inside an optical cavity is in principle feasible [13,14]. Over recent years, experiments have been performed with a continuously increasing ratio between the cavity coupling constant g and the spontaneous cavity decay rate κ.…”

Development of Mirror Coatings for Gravitational Wave Detectors

“…Thermal noise associated with dielectric multilayer coatings sets an important limit in precision measurement applications, such as highly frequency-stabilized lasers [9][10][11], atomic clocks [12,13], and gravitational wave detectors [14][15][16][17]. We discuss here the connections between thermal noise and elastic dissipation in mirrors, and between that dissipation and the structure of amorphous films.…”