Correction to the detector-dead-time effect on the second-order correlation of stationary sub-Poissonian light in a two-detector configuration

Exact measurement of the second-order correlation function $g^{(2)}(t)$ of a light source is essential when investigating the photon statistics and the light generation process of the source. For a stationary single-mode light source, Mandel Q factor is directly related to $g^{(2)}(t)$. For a large mean photon number in the mode, the deviation of $g^{(2)}(t)$ from unity is so small that even a tiny error in measuring $g^{(2)}(t)$ would result in an inaccurate Mandel Q. In this work, we have found that detector dead time can induce a serious error in $g^{(2)}(t)$ and thus in Mandel Q in those cases even in a two-detector configuration. Our finding contradicts the conventional understanding that detector dead time would not affect $g^{(2)}(t)$ in two-detector configurations. Utilizing the cavity-QED microlaser, a well-established sub-Poissonian light source, we measured $g^{(2)}(t)$ with two different types of photodetectors with different dead time. We also introduced prolonged dead time by intentionally deleting the photodetection events following a preceding one within a specified time interval. We found that the observed Q of the cavity-QED microlaser was underestimated by 19% with respect to the dead-time-free Q when its mean photon number was about 600. We derived an analytic formula which well explains the behavior of the $g^{(2)}(t)$ as a function of the dead time.

Three-dimensional imaging of cavity vacuum with single atoms localized by a nanohole array

Zero-point electromagnetic fields were first introduced to explain the origin of atomic spontaneous emission. Vacuum fluctuations associated with the zero-point energy in cavities are now utilized in quantum devices such as single-photon sources, quantum memories, switches and network nodes. Here we present three-dimensional (3D) imaging of vacuum fluctuations in a high-Q cavity based on the measurement of position-dependent emission of single atoms. Atomic position localization is achieved by using a nanoscale atomic beam aperture scannable in front of the cavity mode. The 3D structure of the cavity vacuum is reconstructed from the cavity output. The root mean squared amplitude of the vacuum field at the antinode is also measured to be 0.92+-0.07V/cm. The present work utilizing a single atom as a probe for sub-wavelength imaging demonstrates the utility of nanometre-scale technology in cavity quantum electrodynamics.