Trapping of Single Atoms in Cavity QED

By integrating the techniques of laser cooling and trapping with those of cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED), single cesium atoms have been trapped within the mode of a small, high finesse optical cavity in a regime of strong coupling. The observed lifetime for individual atoms trapped within the cavity mode is τ≈28 ms, and is limited by fluctuations of light forces arising from the far-detuned intracavity field. This initial realization of trapped atoms in cavity QED should enable diverse protocols in quantum information science.