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Detection of individual atoms in helium buffer gas and observation of their real-time motionSingle atoms are detected and their motion measured for the first time to our knowledge by the fluorescence photon-burst method in the presence of large quantities of buffer gas. A single-clipped digital correlator records the photon burst in real time and displays the atom's transit time across the laser beam. A comparison is made of the special requirements for single-atom detection in vacuum and in a buffer gas. Finally, the probability distribution of the bursts from many atoms is measured. It further proves that the bursts observed on resonance are due to single atoms and not simply to noise fluctuations.
Document ID
19810027442
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Pan, C. L.
(Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Prodan, J. V.
(Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
Fairbank, W. M., Jr.
(Colorado State Univ. Fort Collins, CO, United States)
She, C. Y.
(Colorado State University Fort Collins, Colo., United States)
Date Acquired
August 11, 2013
Publication Date
November 1, 1980
Publication Information
Publication: Optics Letters
Volume: 5
Subject Category
Atomic And Molecular Physics
Accession Number
81A11846
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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