Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics with a Capital Q

With recent developments in optical cavity QED pioneered in the Quantum Optics Group at Caltech, optical physics has progressed to a domain wherein processes are driven by single atoms interacting with optical fields with average energy corresponding to much less than one photon. This unique situation opens doors for new and exciting phenomena which manifestly rely on the quantum nature of the atom-field interaction. The system that we have developed to access this realm consists of an atom strongly coupled to a single mode of a high finesse optical resonator [1]. To introduce the notation, the dipole coupling of the atom to the cavity mode is described by a rate g, while the dissipative rates are γ || for atomic energy decay (with the polarization decay rate γ ┴ = γ || /2 as appropriate for purely radiative relaxation) and k for cavity decay.