2000 character limit reached
Conditional Spin-Squeezing of a Large Ensemble via the Vacuum Rabi Splitting (1103.0335v1)
Published 2 Mar 2011 in quant-ph and physics.atom-ph
Abstract: We use the vacuum Rabi splitting to perform quantum nondemolition (QND) measurements that prepare a conditionally spin-squeezed state of a collective atomic psuedo-spin. We infer a 3.4(6) dB improvement in quantum phase estimation relative to the standard quantum limit for a coherent spin state composed of uncorrelated atoms. The measured collective spin is composed of the two-level clock states of nearly 106 Rb-87 atoms confined inside a low finesse F = 710 optical cavity. This technique may improve atomic sensor precision and/or bandwidth, and may lead to more precise tests of fundamental physics.