Abstract

With the aid of supercomputer models we numerically investigate the exact solutions for a small number of atoms (typically 1–10) interacting with a single quantized mode of an electromagnetic cavity that is driven by an external coherent field. Effects of spontaneous emission and a nonzero cavity decay rate are included. We investigate the strong coupling regime where the atom-field coupling constant is much greater than the dissipation rates to the external environment. In this regime, the usual system size expansions of quantum statistical physics are not applicable and a full numerical solution is required. We model the recently reported experimental observations of Rabi oscillations in the second order coherence function¹ g⁽²⁾(τ) and compare and contrast the results with an effective single atom-cavity model with an appropriately scaled coupling constant. In addition, the steady state field distribution for the few-atom-cavity system is explored. A multipeaked phase distribution is found that generalizes the bimodal phase distribution found in the single-atom-cavity case.² Spectra for the few-atom-cavity system are investigated in the weak and strong driving field limits.

© 1992 Optical Society of America