2001/04/08 by M. C. Fischer, B. Gutierrez-Medina, M. G. Raizen
Physics and Astronomy · #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physrevlett.87.040402
4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PRL
arxiv created 2001/04/08 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01
We report the first observation of the Quantum Zeno and Anti-Zeno effects in an unstable system. Cold sodium atoms are trapped in a far-detuned standing wave of light that is accelerated for a controlled duration. For a large acceleration the atoms can escape the trapping potential via tunneling. Initially the number of trapped atoms shows strong non-exponential decay features, evolving into the characteristic exponential decay behavior. We repeatedly measure the number of atoms remaining trapped during the initial period of non-exponential decay. Depending on the frequency of measurements we observe a decay that is suppressed or enhanced as compared to the unperturbed system.