Abstract

Experiments in cavity quantum electrodynamics are reaching levels in the visible, where a single atom interacting with a single mode of the electromagnetic field are possible. Experimentally the implementation of such a system usually requires a collimated atomic beam intersecting perpendicularly a single mode of a high-finesse interferometer. The presence of the Gaussian transverse profile and the standing waves in a cavity mode creates a distribution of coupling constants between the atom and the cavity. This distribution is convoluted with the different transit times across the mode for different atoms.

© 1996 Optical Society of America