
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Walls, DF 
A1  - Collett, MJ 
A1  - Storey, EP 
A1  - Tan, SM 
T1  - Quantum Measurements in Atomic Optics
JF  - Australian Journal of Physics
JO  - Aust. J.  Phys.
Y1  - 1993
VL  - 46
IS  - 1
SP  - 61
EP  - 76
KW  - 
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1071/PH930061 
N2  - We consider atoms traversing a cavity filled with an optical field. When the atoms are well detuned from the optical resonance the output momentum distribution of the atoms is found to be a sensitive probe of the photon statistics of the light field. Near resonance spontaneous emission smears the diffractive peaks. We obtain a good fit to the experimental data of Gould et at. (1991). As the atoms pass through the optical field they impart a position-dependent phase shift to the field. By making a quadrature phase measurement on the optical field a position measurement of the atom is achieved. We show that it is possible to prepare the atom in a 'contractive state' which beats the standard quantum limit for position measurements. 
ER  -

