Time-resolved Scattering of a Single Photon by a Single Atom
Abstract
Scattering of light by matter has been studied extensively in the past. Yet, the most fundamental process, the scattering of a single photon by a single atom, is largely unexplored [1-3]. One prominent prediction of quantum optics is the deterministic absorption of a traveling photon by a single atom, provided the photon waveform matches spatially and temporally the time-reversed version of a spontaneously emitted photon [4-12]. Here, we experimentally address this prediction and investigate the influence of the temporal profile of the photon on the scattering dynamics using a single trapped atom and heralded single photons. In a time-resolved measurement of the atomic excitation we find a 56(11)% increase of the peak excitation by photons with an exponentially rising profile compared to a decaying one. This result demonstrates that tailoring the envelope of single photons enables precise control of the photon-atom interaction.
Cite
@article{arxiv.1604.08020,
title = {Time-resolved Scattering of a Single Photon by a Single Atom},
author = {Victor Leong and Mathias Alexander Seidler and Matthias Steiner and Alessandro Cerè and Christian Kurtsiefer},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1604.08020},
year = {2016}
}
Comments
5 pages, 5 figures