Atomic position localization via dual measurement

Abstract

We study localization of atomic position when a three-level atom interacts with a quantized standing-wave field in the Ramsey interferometer setup. Both the field quadrature amplitude and the atomic internal state are measured to obtain the atomic position information. It is found that this dual measurement scheme produces an interference pattern superimposed on a diffraction-like pattern in the atomic position distribution, where the former pattern originates from the state-selective measurement and the latter from the field measurement. The present scheme results in a better resolution in the position localization than the field-alone measurement schemes. We also discuss the measurement-correlated mechanical action of the standing-wave field on the atom in the light of Popper's test.

6.5 pages and 5 figures