A single atom in free space as a quantum aperture

Abstract

We calculate exact 3-D solutions of Maxwell equations corresponding to strongly focused light beams, and study their interaction with a single atom in free space. We show how the naive picture of the atom as an absorber with a size given by its radiative cross section $\sigma =3{\lambda }^2/2\pi$ must be modified. The implications of these results for quantum information processing capabilities of trapped atoms are discussed.

4 pages ReVTeX and 3 eps figures

References in corpus (2)

• Experimental issues in coherent quantum-state manipulation of trapped atomic ions
• Ideal Quantum Communication over Noisy Channels: a Quantum Optical Implementation

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