›› 2015, Vol. 24 ›› Issue (3): 34202-034202.doi: 10.1088/1674-1056/24/3/034202

• ELECTROMAGNETISM, OPTICS, ACOUSTICS, HEAT TRANSFER, CLASSICAL MECHANICS, AND FLUID DYNAMICS • 上一篇    下一篇

Spontaneous emission of “polarized” V-type three-level atoms strongly coupled with an optical cavity

薛艳丽, 朱诗灯, 李家方, 丁伟, 冯宝华, 李志远   

  1. Laboratory of Optical Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
  • 收稿日期:2014-09-09 修回日期:2014-11-06 出版日期:2015-03-05 发布日期:2015-03-05
  • 基金资助:
    Project supported by the National Basic Research Foundation of China (Grant No. 2011CB922002).

Spontaneous emission of “polarized” V-type three-level atoms strongly coupled with an optical cavity

Xue Yan-Li (薛艳丽), Zhu Shi-Deng (朱诗灯), Li Jia-Fang (李家方), Ding Wei (丁伟), Feng Bao-Hua (冯宝华), Li Zhi-Yuan (李志远)   

  1. Laboratory of Optical Physics, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
  • Received:2014-09-09 Revised:2014-11-06 Online:2015-03-05 Published:2015-03-05
  • Contact: Li Zhi-Yuan E-mail:lizy@aphy.iphy.ac.cn
  • Supported by:
    Project supported by the National Basic Research Foundation of China (Grant No. 2011CB922002).

摘要: Polarization, an intrinsic ingredient of photon, plays a critical role in its interaction with matter. A general polarization state can be an appropriate superposition of two basic polarization states, say, the vertical and horizontal linear polarized state. Here we study spontaneous emission of a V-type three-level atom (with two upper states close in energy level) strongly coupled with a single-mode damped optical cavity. By defining a general polarization state of atom as a specific superposition of the two upper quantum states, we can prepare atoms with linear polarization at arbitrary direction, left and right circular polarization, and left and right elliptical polarization, similar to photons. We find that the spontaneous emission of light from these “polarized” three-level atoms shows very different profiles of side and axis spectra. This means that the polarization state of three-level atoms can become an active ingredient to manipulate its interaction with light and control the quantum interference effect. Exploitation of the coherent superposition and interference of quantum states in “polarized” atoms would allow one to deeply explore new frontiers of light-matter interaction.

关键词: spontaneous emission, polarization state, three-level atoms

Abstract: Polarization, an intrinsic ingredient of photon, plays a critical role in its interaction with matter. A general polarization state can be an appropriate superposition of two basic polarization states, say, the vertical and horizontal linear polarized state. Here we study spontaneous emission of a V-type three-level atom (with two upper states close in energy level) strongly coupled with a single-mode damped optical cavity. By defining a general polarization state of atom as a specific superposition of the two upper quantum states, we can prepare atoms with linear polarization at arbitrary direction, left and right circular polarization, and left and right elliptical polarization, similar to photons. We find that the spontaneous emission of light from these “polarized” three-level atoms shows very different profiles of side and axis spectra. This means that the polarization state of three-level atoms can become an active ingredient to manipulate its interaction with light and control the quantum interference effect. Exploitation of the coherent superposition and interference of quantum states in “polarized” atoms would allow one to deeply explore new frontiers of light-matter interaction.

Key words: spontaneous emission, polarization state, three-level atoms

中图分类号:  (Cavity quantum electrodynamics; micromasers)

  • 42.50.Pq
42.50.Gy (Effects of atomic coherence on propagation, absorption, and Amplification of light; electromagnetically induced transparency and Absorption) 32.80.Qk (Coherent control of atomic interactions with photons)