Phase shift of a weak coherent beam induced by a single atom

Phys Rev Lett. 2009 Oct 9;103(15):153601. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.103.153601. Epub 2009 Oct 7.

Abstract

We report on a direct measurement of a phase shift on a weak coherent beam by a single 87Rb atom in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. By strongly focusing the probe mode to the location of the atom, a maximum phase shift of about 1 degree is observed experimentally.