Quantum optical weak measurements can visualize photon dynamics in real time

Abstract

An experiment is proposed to visualize stroboscopically in real time the dynamics of a photon oscillating between two cavities. The visualization is implemented by a sequence of weak measurements (POVM), which are carried out by probing one of the cavities with a Rydberg atom and detecting a resulting phase shift by Ramsey interferometry. This way to measure the number of photons in a cavity was experimentally realized by Brune et al.. We suggest a feedback mechanism which minimizes the disturbance due to the measurement and enables a detection of the original evolution of the radiation field. PACS numbers: 03.65.Ta, 32.80.-t, 03.67.-a