Nondestructive Rydberg atom counting with mesoscopic fields in a cavity.
We present an efficient, state-selective, nondemolition atom-counting procedure based on the dispersive interaction of a sample of circular Rydberg atoms with a mesoscopic field contained in a high-quality superconducting cavity. The state-dependent atomic index of refraction, proportional to the atom number, shifts the classical field phase. A homodyne procedure translates the information from the phase to the intensity. The final field intensity is readout by a mesoscopic atomic sample. This method opens promising routes for quantum information processing and nonclassical state generation with Rydberg atoms.
Maioli
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P
Laboratoire Kastler Brossel, Département de Physique de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, 24 rue Lhomond, F-75231 Paris CEDEX 05, France.
Meunier
T
T
Gleyzes
S
S
Auffeves
A
A
Nogues
G
G
Brune
M
M
Raimond
J M
JM
Haroche
S
S