Time-resolved scattering of a single photon by a single atom

Victor Leong, Mathias Alexander Seidler, Matthias Steiner, Alessandro Cerè and Christian Kurtsiefer ()
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Victor Leong: Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore
Mathias Alexander Seidler: Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore
Matthias Steiner: Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore
Alessandro Cerè: Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore
Christian Kurtsiefer: Centre for Quantum Technologies, National University of Singapore

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-5

Abstract: Abstract Scattering of light by matter has been studied extensively in the past. Yet, the most fundamental process, the scattering of a single photon by a single atom, is largely unexplored. One prominent prediction of quantum optics is the deterministic absorption of a travelling photon by a single atom, provided the photon waveform matches spatially and temporally the time-reversed version of a spontaneously emitted photon. Here we experimentally address this prediction and investigate the influence of the photon’s temporal profile on the scattering dynamics using a single trapped atom and heralded single photons. In a time-resolved measurement of atomic excitation we find a 56(11)% increase of the peak excitation by photons with an exponentially rising profile compared with a decaying one. However, the overall scattering probability remains unchanged within the experimental uncertainties. Our results demonstrate that envelope tailoring of single photons enables precise control of the photon–atom interaction.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13716

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