Fast Excitation and Photon Emission of a Single-Atom-Cavity System

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates rapid excitation of a single atom-cavity system to generate tunable, frequency-superposed single photons with amplitude modulation, advancing quantum networking capabilities.

Contribution

It introduces a fast excitation method for single-atom-cavity systems enabling tunable photon frequency superpositions and amplitude modulation.

Findings

Single photons with tunable frequencies created

Photon amplitude modulated by atom-cavity energy exchange

Technique enhances quantum networking potential

Abstract

We report on the fast excitation of a single atom coupled to an optical cavity using laser pulses that are much shorter than all other relevant processes. The cavity frequency constitutes a control parameter that allows the creation of single photons in a superposition of two tunable frequencies. Each photon emitted from the cavity thus exhibits a pronounced amplitude modulation determined by the oscillatory energy exchange between the atom and the cavity. Our technique constitutes a versatile tool for future quantum networking experiments.