Controlling the quantum walking and blinking of single neutral atoms

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• Artur Widera (University of Bonn)
• Friday 05 November 2010, 14:00-15:00
• Physics East 217.

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Recent advances in preparation, manipulation and detection of single neutral atoms have paved the way to experimentally address fundamental questions of quantum mechanics. I will report on two approaches to realize different paradigms of quantum physics. First, trapping single atoms in a state-dependent optical lattice allows us to entangle the atomic spin with both the position and the motional state of the atom. As a consequence, coherent superpositions of internal states can be transformed into coherent superpositions of a single particle being at different positions in space. This has enabled the implementation, for instance, of the quantum walk with single atoms, the coherent walk of a quantum particle on a line. Our results can shed light onto the mechanisms affecting quantum states that exhibit coherent spatial superpositions over macroscopic distances. Second, we can deterministically insert a single atom into a high-finesse optical resonator. By employing the coherent interaction with single photons, we non-destructively study the spin dynamics of the atom and observe quantum jumps of the atom between two spin states. This method might prove useful in the creation and detection of non-classical atomic states. Finally, I will report on the observation of electromagnetically induced transparency effects with single atoms inside the high finesse resonator.

This talk is part of the Cold Atoms series.

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