Düsseldorf 2007 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 59: Quanteneffekte (Lichtstreuung II)
Q 59.7: Talk
Thursday, March 22, 2007, 15:30–15:45, 5E
Coherence of light scattered by two coupled atoms — Stefan Rist1, Giovanna Morigi1, •Markus Hennrich2, and Jürgen Eschner2 — 1Dept. de Fisica, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, E-08193 Bellaterra, Spain — 2ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences, E-08860 Castelldefels (Barcelona), Spain
We investigate theoretically the properties of the light scattered by two atoms which are imaged onto each other by a lens and a mirror. In a recent experiment using that configuration [1], interference between the light scattered by one atom and the mirror image of the second one was observed as a function of the difference between the optical paths of the light reaching the detector. Here we develop a theoretical model for the experimental situation, which extends the work of Ref. [2] describing the dynamics of a single atom in front of a mirror. The emission spectra of the two atoms are evaluated by taking into account multiple scattering of photons at all orders, thereby determining the corrections to the Wigner-Weisskopf approximation for the atomic linewidth. Novel features in the first order interference spectrum are identified which arise from the interaction between the two atoms, and which could be revealed in the setup of Ref. [1].
[1] J. Eschner, C. Raab, F. Schmidt-Kaler, and R. Blatt, Nature 413, 495 (2001).
[2] U. Dorner and P. Zoller, Phys. Rev. A 66, 023816 (2002)