Abstract
The quantum mechanical description of a radiation field is based on states that are characterized by the number of photons in a particular mode; the most basic quantum states are those with fixed photon number, usually referred to as number (or Fock) states. Although Fock states of vibrational motion can be observed readily in ion traps1, number states of the radiation field are very fragile and difficult to produce and maintain. Single photons in multi-mode fields have been generated using the technique of photon pairs2,3. But in order to generate these states in a cavity, the mode in question must have minimal losses; moreover, additional sources of photon number fluctuations, such as the thermal field, must be eliminated. Here we observe the build-up of number states in a high-Q cavity, by investigating the interaction dynamics of a probe atom with the field. We employ a dynamical method of number state preparation that involves state reduction of highly excited atoms in a cavity, with a photon lifetime as high as 0.2 seconds. (This set-up is usually known as the one-atom maser or ‘micromaser’.) Pure states containing up to two photons are measured unambiguously.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Leibfried, D. et al. Experimental determination of the motional quantum state of a trapped atom. Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4281–4285 (1996).
Hong, C. K. & Mandel, L. Experimental realization of a localized one photon state. Phys. Rev. Lett. 56, 58–60 (1986).
Fearn, H. & Loudon, R. Theory of two-photon interference. J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 6, 917–927 (1989).
Weidinger, M., Varcoe, B. T. H., Heerlein, R. & Walther, H. Trapping states in the micromaser. Phys. Rev. Lett. 82, 3795–3798 (1999).
Maître, X. et al. Quantum memory with a single photon in a cavity. Phys. Rev. Lett. 79, 769–772 (1997).
Englert, B. et al. Entangled atoms in micromaser physics. Fortschr. Phys. 46, 897–926 (1998).
Nogues, G. et al. Seeing a single photon without destroying it. Nature 400, 239–242 (1999).
Englert, B.-G., Sterpi, N. & Walther, H. Parity States in the one-atom maser. Opt. Commun. 100, 526–535 (1993).
Rempe, G. & Walther, H. Sub-poissonian atomic statistics in a micromaser. Phys. Rev. A 42, 1650–1655 (1990).
Rempe, G., Walther, H. & Klein, N. Observation of quantum collapse and revival in the one-atom maser. Phys. Rev. A 58, 353–356 (1987).
Raithel, G., Benson, O. & Walther, H. Atomic interferometry with the micromaser. Phys. Rev. Lett. 75, 3446–3449 (1995).
Benson, O., Raithel, G. & Walther, H. Quantum jumps of the micromaser field - dynamic behavior close to phase transition points. Phys. Rev. Lett. 72, 3506–3509 (1994).
Filipowicz, P., Javanainen, J. & Meystre, P. Theory of a microscopic maser. J. Opt. Soc. B 34, 3077–3087 (1986).
Cummings, F. W. & Rajagopal, A. K. Production of number states of the electromagnetic field. Phys. Rev. A 39 3414–3416 (1989).
Jaynes, E. T. & Cummings, F. W. Quantum and semiclassical radiation theories. Proc. IEEE 51, 89–109 (1963).
Meystre, P., Rempe, G. & Walther, H. Very-low temperature behavior of a micromaser. Opt. Lett. 13, 1078–1080 (1988).
Krause, J., Scully, M. O. & Walther, H. State reduction and |n〉-state preparation of a high-Q micromaser. Phys. Rev. A 36, 4547–4550 (1987).
Wehner, E., Seno, R., Sterpi, N., Englert, B.-G. & Walther, H. Atom pairs in the micromaser. Opt. Commun. 110, 655–669 (1994).
Brune, M. et al. Quantum Rabi oscillation: A direct test of field quantisation in a cavity. Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1800–1803 (1996).
Acknowledgements
We thank B.-G. Englert for the theoretical calculations of the cavity photon number and for many useful discussions.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Varcoe, B., Brattke, S., Weidinger, M. et al. Preparing pure photon number states of the radiation field. Nature 403, 743–746 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35001526
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35001526
This article is cited by
-
Revisiting self-interference in Young’s double-slit experiments
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
Hierarchy of quantum non-Gaussian conservative motion
Communications Physics (2022)
-
Theoretical studies on quantum imaging with time-integrated single-photon detection under realistic experimental conditions
Scientific Reports (2022)
-
Entanglement of a system of indirectly linked two-coupled-cavity through an optical fiber for single excitation atomic states in the presence of external classical fields.
Optical and Quantum Electronics (2022)
-
Entanglement dynamics of a dispersive system of two driven qubits localized in coherently two linked optical cavities: two dispersive spatial distant driven Jaynes–Cummings cells
Optical and Quantum Electronics (2022)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.