Resonant interaction of a single atom with single photons from a down-conversion source

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates the resonant interaction between a single trapped calcium ion and single photons from a narrow-band down-conversion source, using quantum jump techniques to quantify photon absorption.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed characterization of single-photon absorption by a trapped ion from a resonant down-conversion source.

Findings

Successful observation of atom-photon interaction at the single-photon level

Quantitative measurement of photon absorption spectrum

Use of quantum jump scheme for interaction analysis

Abstract

We observe the interaction of a single trapped calcium ion with single photons produced by a narrow-band, resonant down-conversion source [A. Haase et al., Opt. Lett. 34, 55 (2009)], employing a quantum jump scheme. Using the temperature dependence of the down-conversion spectrum and the tunability of the narrow source, absorption of the down-conversion photons is quantitatively characterized.