Atoms in strong light-fields: photon antibunching in single atom fluorescence

Abstract

Some general remarks and suggestions concerning photon antibunching in single atom fluorescence are presented. The close connection between this antibunching effect and the ‘ reduction of the wave packet ’ due to the detection process is made explicit. It is pointed out that polarization effects could considerably change the shape of the signals. A dressed atom approach to these problems reveals analogies with quantum beats and suggests the use of frequency filters at the detection, selecting one component of the fluorescence spectrum and leading to new types of photon correlation signals.