title: Generating and probing a two-photon fock state with a single atom in a cavity.
abstract: A two-photon Fock state is prepared in a cavity sustaining a "source mode" and a "target mode," with a single circular Rydberg atom. In a third-order Raman process, the atom emits a photon in the target while scattering one photon from the source into the target. The final two-photon state is probed by measuring by Ramsey interferometry the cavity light shifts induced by the target field on the same atom. Extensions to other multiphoton processes and to a new type of micromaser are briefly discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Département de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, F-75231 Paris Cedex 05, France.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bertet
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Osnaghi
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Milman
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Auffeves
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Maioli
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brune
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Raimond
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haroche