Quantum jumps via spontaneous Raman scattering

A single laser, which is used to induce and detect spontaneous Raman transitions, can be used to observe quantum jumps in a single atom. The population dynamics of a particular system, consisting of two ${}_{}{}^2{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{S}_{1/2}^{}{}_{}{}^{}$ ground-state levels and four ${}_{}{}^2{}_{}{}^{}\mathrm{P}_{3/2}^{}{}_{}{}^{}$ excited-state levels split by a magnetic field, is analyzed for a laser tuned near a particular transition. We find that the statistics of the fluorescence emitted by this system are described by the same formalism developed for the three-level V configuration irradiated by two light sources. Over a wide range of observation times, the fluorescence intensity will be two valued, either off or on, as has been verified for the V configuration. Some surprising and elegant features of this new system are described.