TIME RESPONSE OF A COUPLED ATOMS-CAVITY SYSTEM

We study the time response of a quantum optical system to a step excit ation. The system is composed of a collection of N two-level atoms cou pled to a single mode of the electromagnetic field of an optical cavit y. The size of the step excitation is not limited to the low-intensity regime. Before the system reaches steady state there is an oscillator y exchange of energy between the atoms and the cavity. We compare the experimental results quantitatively with theoretical calculations and with previous transmission spectroscopy measurements. (C) 1997 Optical Society of America.