Precision spatial measurement of the hot rubidium atom in the three-dimension

Abstract

The interaction of hot atoms with laser fields experiences a Doppler shift which can severely affect the precise spatial measurement of an atom. We suggest an experimentally realizable scheme to address this issue in three-dimension position measurement of a single atom in vapors of rubidium atoms. Three-level lambda type atom-field configuration is considered where a moving atom interacts with three orthogonal standing-wave laser fields and spatial information of the atom in 3D space is obtained via upper-level population using a weak probe laser field. The atom moves with a velocity along the probe laser field and due to the Doppler broadening the precision in the spatial information deteriorates significantly. It is reported that via a microwave field the precision in the position measurement of the single atom can be obtained in the hot rubidium atom overcoming the limitation posed by the Doppler shift.

5 Pages, 4 figures