Optical Response of Gas-Phase Atoms at Less than λ/80 from a Dielectric Surface

Whittaker, K.A.; Keaveney, J.; Hughes, I.G.; Sargsyan, A.; Sarkisyan, D.; Adams, C.S.

doi:10.1103/physrevlett.112.253201

Optical Response of Gas-Phase Atoms at Less than λ/80 from a Dielectric Surface

Whittaker, K.A.; Keaveney, J.; Hughes, I.G.; Sargsyan, A.; Sarkisyan, D.; Adams, C.S.

Authors

K.A. Whittaker

J. Keaveney

Professor Ifan Hughes i.g.hughes@durham.ac.uk
Professor

A. Sargsyan

D. Sarkisyan

Professor Stuart Adams c.s.adams@durham.ac.uk
Professor

Abstract

We present experimental observations of atom-light interactions within tens of nanometers (down to 11 nm) of a sapphire surface. Using photon counting we detect the fluorescence from of order one thousand Rb or Cs atoms, confined in a vapor with thickness much less than the optical excitation wavelength. The asymmetry in the spectral line shape provides a direct readout of the atom-surface potential. A numerical fit indicates a power law −Cα/rα with α=3.02±0.06 confirming that the van der Waals interaction dominates over other effects. The extreme sensitivity of our photon-counting technique may allow the search for atom-surface bound states.

Citation

Whittaker, K., Keaveney, J., Hughes, I., Sargsyan, A., Sarkisyan, D., & Adams, C. (2014). Optical Response of Gas-Phase Atoms at Less than λ/80 from a Dielectric Surface. Physical Review Letters, 112, Article 253201. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.112.253201

Journal Article Type	Article
Online Publication Date	Jun 26, 2014
Publication Date	Jun 26, 2014
Deposit Date	May 23, 2014
Publicly Available Date	Jul 16, 2014
Journal	Physical Review Letters
Print ISSN	0031-9007
Electronic ISSN	1079-7114
Publisher	American Physical Society
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	112
Article Number	253201
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.112.253201

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