Quantum mechanical counterpart of nonlinear optics

Raman-type laser excitation of a trapped atom allows one to realize the quantum mechanical counterpart of phenomena of nonlinear optics, such as Kerr-type nonlinearities, parametric amplification, and multi-mode mixing. Additionally, huge nonlinearities emerge from the interference of the atomic wave function with the laser waves. They lead to a partitioning of the phase space accompanied by a significantly different action of the time evolution in neighboring phase-space zones. For example, a nonlinearly modified coherent "displacement" of the motional quantum state may induce strong amplitude squeezing and quantum interferences.