Description
Resonance fluorescence spectrum of a two-level system consists of a single peak that evolves into a triplet structure, known as Mollow triplet , when it is driven by a radiation field above its saturation intensity. Particularly, photons originated from different peaks of the triplet show distinct photon correlations, which allows the fluorescence to be engineered as a useful light source for quantum information processing purposes. Surprisingly, the Mollow triplet was never studied for an optically trapped single atom given the advantages it has. We study experimentally the fluorescence spectrum of an optically trapped single $^{87}$Rb atom by exciting a closed two-level transition with an on-resonant laser at different powers. The second-order intensity correlation measurement demonstrates the photon anti-bunching characteristic from a single atom emission as well as the Rabi oscillation undergone by the atom. Next, we measure the cross correlation between photons coming from the two sidebands of the fluorescence spectrum when an off-resonant field is applied on the atom. The asymmetry in the timing correlation clearly indicates that there is a preferred time-ordering for the photon emission process in the two sidebands. The cascaded generation of time-correlated fluorescence photons with a tunable frequency difference will be useful for quantum optics experiments and quantum communication protocols.
| Presenter name | Boon Long Ng |
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| How will you attend ICAP-27? | I am planning on in-person attendance |
