Field Locked to a Fock State by Quantum Feedback with Single Photon Corrections

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Date: 
2012-06-15
Author(s): 

X. Zhou, I. Dotsenko, B. Peuadecerf, T. Rybarczyk, C. Sayrin, S. Gleyzes, J.M. Raimond, M. Brune, S. Haroche

Reference: 

Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 243602 (2012)

Fock states with photon numbers n up to 7 are prepared on demand in a microwave superconducting cavity by a quantum feedback procedure that reverses decoherence-induced quantum jumps. Circular Rydberg atoms are used as quantum nondemolition sensors or as single-photon emitter or absorber actuators. The quantum nature of these actuators matches the correction of single-photon quantum jumps due to relaxation. The flexibility of this method is suited to the generation of arbitrary sequences of Fock states.