Atom interferometry with quantized light pulses

Single Atom and Two Atom Ramsey Interferometry with Quantized Fields

Implications of field quantization on Ramsey interferometry are discussed and general conditions for the occurrence of interference are obtained. Interferences do not occur if the fields in two Ramsey zones have precise number of photons. However in this case it is shown how an analog of Hanbury-Brown Twiss photon-photon correlation interferometry can be used to discern a variety of interferenc...

Light-pulse atom interferometry

— The light-pulse atom interferometry method is reviewed. Applications of the method to inertial navigation and tests of the Equivalence Principle are discussed.

Optical meta-atom for localization of light with quantized energy

The capacity to confine light into a small region of space is of paramount importance in many areas of modern science. Here we suggest a mechanism to store a quantized 'bit' of light--with a very precise amount of energy--in an open core-shell plasmonic structure ('meta-atom') with a nonlinear optical response. Notwithstanding the trapped light state is embedded in the radiation continuum, its ...

Light-pulse atom interferometry in microgravity

We describe the operation of a light pulse interferometer using cold Rb atoms in reduced gravity. Using a series of two Raman transitions induced by light pulses, we have obtained Ramsey fringes in the low gravity environment achieved during parabolic flights. With our compact apparatus, we have operated in a regime which is not accessible on ground. In the much lower gravity environment and lo...

Atom wave interferometry with diffraction gratings of light.