Phys. Rev. Lett. 76, 1800–1803 (1996)Quantum Rabi Oscillation: A Direct Test of Field Quantization in a CavityReceived 9 November 1995; published in the issue dated 11 March 1996 We have observed the Rabi oscillation of circular Rydberg atoms in the vacuum and in small coherent fields stored in a high Q cavity. The signal exhibits discrete Fourier components at frequencies proportional to the square root of successive integers. This provides direct evidence of field quantization in the cavity. The weights of the Fourier components yield the photon number distribution in the field. This investigation of the excited levels of the atom-cavity system reveals nonlinear quantum features at extremely low field strengths. © 1996 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.1800
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.76.1800
PACS:
42.50.Ar, 03.65.-w, 32.80.-t
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