title: Optical control of the refractive index of a single atom.
abstract: We experimentally demonstrate the elementary case of electromagnetically induced transparency with a single atom inside an optical cavity probed by a weak field. We observe the modification of the dispersive and absorptive properties of the atom by changing the frequency of a control light field. Moreover, a strong cooling effect has been observed at two-photon resonance, increasing the storage time of our atoms twenty-fold to about 16 seconds. Our result points towards all-optical switching with single photons.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Angewandte Physik, Universität Bonn, Wegelerstrasse 8, D-53115 Bonn, Germany. kampschulte@iap.uni-bonn.de
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kampschulte
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Alt
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Brakhane
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eckstein
authors.forename: René
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Reimann
authors.forename: Artur
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Widera
authors.forename: Dieter
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Meschede