Hamburg 2009 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 30: Poster II
Q 30.51: Poster
Tuesday, March 3, 2009, 16:30–19:00, VMP 9 Poster
Development of a cold atom cavity quantum electrodynamics experiment using tunable bottle microresonators — •Danny O’Shea, Alexander Rettenmaier, and Arno Rauschenbeutel — Abteilung QUANTUM, Institut für Physik, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, 55099 Mainz
We recently developed a novel type of whispering gallery mode resonator that confines light by a mechanism similar to the confinement of electrons or ions in a magnetic bottle. Our “bottle resonators" confine light in mode volumes measuring as small as 1000-1500 µm3 and can store light for up to ∼160 ns. This corresponds to a quality factor of 3.6×108 at caesium or rubidium wavelengths. Calculations indicate an atom-field coupling rate deep within the so-called strong coupling regime. In contrast to other monolithic structures, such as photonic crystals and microtori, our bottle resonators can be tuned to any desired atomic transition, making them much more amenable to quantum optics experiments. We set up an apparatus to deliver cold rubidium atoms to the location of the bottle resonator using an atomic fountain. The current status of our experiment is presented and we show first results towards the active stabilization of the bottle resonator to an atomic resonance.
Financial support by the DFG, the Volkswagen Foundation, and the ESF is gratefully acknowledged.