NORMAL-MODE LINE-SHAPES FOR ATOMS IN STANDING-WAVE OPTICAL RESONATORS

A high finesse standing-wave cavity mode resonantly interacting with a beam of two-level Ba-138 atoms is weakly driven by a tunable laser. W ith mean intracavity atomic number, [(N) over bar] approximate to 1, w e observe one-, two-, and three-peaked line shapes for strong coupling . In addition, two-peaked spectra observed in intermediate coupling de monstrate that line-shape splitting is not necessarily indicative of o scillatory atom-cavity energy exchange. Several atoms are required for [(N) over bar] approximate to 1, so this is not a true single-atom re gime.