Sub-half-wavelength localization of a two-level atom via trichromatic phase manipulation

• DOI: 10.1016/j.physleta.2008.07.069
• Publication Date: 2008-08-07T09:00:39Z
• Authors: Jun Xu; Qian Li; Wen-chao Yan; Xiang-dong Chen; Xiang-ming Hu
• Keywords: 0103 physical sciences; 01 natural sciences

We show that it is possible to localize a two-level atom in a half-wavelength region by using a trichromatic field to drive the atom. Of the trichromatic components, one sideband is a standing-wave field with position-dependent amplitude. By varying the sum of relative phases of the sidebands of the trichromatic field to the central component, the atom is localized in either of the two half-wavelength regions with 50% detecting probability when the spontaneously emitted photons are detected.