Related papers: Limits to single photon transduction by a single a…
Fluctuations in light absorption by atoms are observed by applying laser light on rubidium atoms and measuring the transmitted light intensity fluctuations. These fluctuations are spontaneous noise, which are generic to photon atom…
In this paper we analyze the dynamics of single-excitation states, which model the scattering of a single photon from multiple two level atoms. For short times and weak atom-field couplings we show that the atomic amplitudes are given by a…
Single-photon detectors have achieved impressive performance, and have led to a number of new scientific discoveries and technological applications. Existing models of photodetectors are semiclassical in that the field-matter interaction is…
Over the past years, there have been many efforts towards generating interactions between two optical beams so strong that they could be observed at the level of individual photons. Such strong interactions, beyond opening up a new regime…
We present a detailed analysis of the dynamics of photon transport in waveguiding systems in the presence of a two-level system. In these systems, quantum interference effects generate a strong effective optical nonlinearity on the…
We report a tunable single-photon source based on a single trapped ion. Employing spontaneous Raman scattering and in-vacuum optics with large numerical aperture, single photons are efficiently created with controlled temporal shape and…
In this work we study the first step in photosynthesis for the limiting case of a single photon interacting with photosystem II (PSII). We model our system using quantum trajectory theory, which allows us to consider not only the average…
A photon is the single excitation of a particular spatiotemporal mode of the electromagnetic field. A precise knowledge of the mode structure is therefore essential for its processing and detection, as well as for applying generic quantum…
All optical techniques used to probe the properties of Bose-Einstein condensates have been based on dispersion and absorption that can be described by a two-level atom. Both phenomena lead to spontaneous emission that is destructive.…
Single-photon sources are in high demand for quantum information applications. A paradigmatic way to achieve single-photon emission is through anharmonicity in the energy levels, such that the absorption of a single photon from a coherent…
We demonstrate an optical method for detecting the mechanical oscillations of an atom with single-phonon sensitivity. The measurement signal results from the interference between the light scattered by a single trapped atomic ion and that…
Single-photon sources that emit photons at the same energy play a key role in the emerging concepts of quantum information, such as entanglement swapping, quantum teleportation and quantum networks. They can be realized in a variety of…
The time-frequency degree of freedom of the electromagnetic field is the final frontier for single-photon measurements. The temporal and spectral distribution a measurement retrodicts (that is, the state it projects onto) is determined by…
By combining genetic algorithm and a spatial light modulator we theoretically analyse how to improve a two-photon cascade absorption in atomic ensembles, inspecting the impact of various configurations and parameters in the optimized phase…
Optical nonlinearities typically require macroscopic media, thereby making their implementation at the quantum level an outstanding challenge. Here we demonstrate a nonlinearity for one atom enclosed by two highly reflecting mirrors. We…
The nonlinear photon-photon interaction mediated by a single two-level atom is studied theoretically based on a one-dimensional model of the field-atom interaction. This model allows us to determine the effects of an atomic nonlinearity on…
A two level model of a single molecule undergoing spectral diffusion dynamics and interacting with a sequence of two short laser pulses is investigated. Analytical solution for the probability of n=0,1,2 photon emission events for the…
Spontaneous emission of a photon by an atom is described theoretically in three dimensions with the initial wave function of a finite-mass atom taken in the form of a finite-size wave packet. Recoil and wave-packet spreading are taken into…
We introduce well-separated $^{87}$Rb$^+$ ions into an atomic ensemble by microwave ionization of Rydberg excitations and realize single-shot imaging of the individual ions with an exposure time of 1 $\mu$s. This imaging sensitivity is…
We study the collective phenomenon in the scattering of a single-photon by one or two layers of two-level atoms. By modeling the photon dispersion with a two-dimensional (2D) coupled cavity array, we analytically derive the scattering…