Direct measurement of the Wigner time delay for the scattering of light by a single atom

We have implemented the Gedanken experiment of an individual atom scattering a wave packet of near-resonant light, and measured the associated Wigner time delay as a function of the frequency of the light. In our apparatus, the atom behaves as a two-level system and we have found delays as large as...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Optics letters 2013-06, Vol.38 (11), p.1963-1965
Main Authors: Bourgain, R, Pellegrino, J, Jennewein, S, Sortais, Y R P, Browaeys, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic Physics
Delay
Excitation
Particles (of physics)
Physics
Scattering
Time delay
Wave packets
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Summary:We have implemented the Gedanken experiment of an individual atom scattering a wave packet of near-resonant light, and measured the associated Wigner time delay as a function of the frequency of the light. In our apparatus, the atom behaves as a two-level system and we have found delays as large as 42 ns at resonance, limited by the lifetime of the excited state. This delay is an important parameter in the problem of collective near-resonant scattering by an ensemble of interacting particles, which is encountered in many areas of physics.
ISSN:0146-9592
1539-4794
DOI:10.1364/OL.38.001963