Conditioned homodyne detection at the single-photon level: Intensity-field correlations for a two-level atom in an optical parametric oscillator

Journal Article · Sat Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 2005 · Physical Review. A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.71.013807· OSTI ID:20650289

Strimbu, C Elliot; Leach, Joseph; Rice, P R ^[1]

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1. Department of Physics, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio 45056 (United States)

We consider intensity-field correlation functions for a two-level atom in a degenerate optical parametric oscillator (OPO), which would result from a conditioned homodyne measurement. Analytic results are obtained in the limit of weak driving fields using quantum trajectory methods for both the transmitted and fluorescent fields. This system is unique in that after detection of a photon, it is known that one excitation is in the system, in either the atom or cavity mode. We find large violations of inequalities satisfied by classical fields, for both transmitted and fluorescent fields. This is in contrast to the usual cavity QED system of an atom in a driven cavity where we do not find nonclassical behavior in the intensity-field correlation function in fluorescence. This is understood in terms of a relationship between the intensity-field correlation function and the second-order intensity correlation function, as well as the different amount of field-atom entanglement in the two systems. We show that for weak-field cavity QED one must have photon bunching to have nonclassical behavior in the intensity-field correlation function. We compare our results to those of an ordinary OPO. Finally, we also consider cross correlations, where we examine the transmitted (fluorescent) field conditioned by detection of a fluorescent (transmitted) photon.

• OSTI ID: 20650289
• Journal Information: Physical Review. A, Journal Name: Physical Review. A Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 71; ISSN 1050-2947; ISSN PLRAAN
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
ATOMS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CORRELATION FUNCTIONS
CORRELATIONS
DETECTION
ENERGY LEVELS
EXCITATION
FLUORESCENCE
PARAMETRIC OSCILLATORS
PHOTONS
QUANTUM ELECTRODYNAMICS