Abstract

A distinctive signature of the granulated nature of the electromagnetic field is the revivals known to occur in the dynamics of a two-level atom interacting with a single-field mode (Jaynes-Cummings model). The development of high-Q single-mode cavities combined with progress in Rydberg atom spectroscopy has led to a possibility of verifying these predictions. Revival experiments using micromasers have been performed by Walther et al. Here the cavity mode is first allowed to reach a steady state, and then probe atoms are injected into the resonator. By measuring their state as they exit the cavity, one can infer the state of the field. We show that the micromaser experiences Jaynes-Cummingslike revivals when the pump parameter θ is varied. However, in contrast to the conventional Jaynes-Cummings situation, which considers initially coherent fields, the micromaser photon statistics are usually not Poissonian and depend sensitively on θ. The micromaser revivals cannot be explained by a semiclassical theory or linearized quantum fluctuations about the semiclassical solution. Rather, an exact quantum treatment, considering fully the granularity of the cavity mode, is required.

© 1988 Optical Society of America