Die Nutzung von Quanteneigenschaften für die Informationsverarbeitung, die sogenannte Quanteninformationsverarbeitung (QIP), ist ein seit zwei Jahrzehnten zunehmend populäres Forschungsfeld. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass Einzelphotonen die am besten geeigneten Träger für den Transport von Quanteninformation über weite Strecken sind. Obwohl viele Methoden zur Erzeugung von Einzelphotonen existieren, wurde bisher nur wenig Forschungsarbeit an schmalbandigen Einzelphotonen, d.h. mit spektralen Breiten im MHz-Bereich geleistet. Allerdings sind solche Einzelphotonen besonders wichtig, wenn Kopplungen zwischen Einzelphotonen und atomaren Systemen, die oft als Verarbeitungseinheiten in der QIP genutzt werden, realisiert werden sollen. Diese Doktorarbeit befasst sich mit mehreren Forschungsaspekten zu schmalbandigen Einzelphotonen, die von Bedeutung sind, wenn solche Photonen als Informationsträger genutzt werden sollen. Zunächst wird eine Quelle von schmalbandigen Einzelphotonen vorgestellt, die auf dem Konzept der parametrischen Fluoreszenz innerhalb eines optischen Resonators basiert und die einen konstanten Strom von Photonenpaaren emittiert. Eine statistische Beschreibung dieser Photonenpaare wird vorgestellt und erstmals direkt gemessen. Um Emission in nur eine einzelne Mode zu erreichen, wurde der Photonenstrom mit Hilfe eines speziell entwickelten Mehrpass-Fabry-Perot-Etalons mit geringem Durchlassbereich und sehr hohem Kontrast gefiltert. Photon-Atom-Wechselwirkungen werden im zweiten Teil der Arbeit gezeigt. Der Effekt der elektromagnetisch induzierten Transparenz (EIT) wird vorgestellt und experimentell demonstriert. Die ersten EIT Experimente in Cäsiumgaszellen bei Raumtemperatur mit Probepulsen, die nur ein einzelnes Photon enthalten, werden demonstriert. Schließlich zeigt ein umfassender Ausblick wie die entwickelten experimentellen Bausteine erweitert werden können, um Einzelphotonenspeicherung zu erlauben und die Technologie für Quantenrepeater zu demonstrieren. / The use of quantum mechanical properties for information processing, so-called quantum information processing (QIP) has become an increasingly popular research field in the last two decades. It turned out that single photons are the most reliable long distance carriers of quantum information, e.g., tools to connect different processing nodes in QIP. While several methods exist to produce single photons, only little research has been performed so far on narrow-band single photons with spectral bandwidths in the MHz regime. Such photons are, however, of particular importance when coupling of single photons to atomic systems, which are often used in QIP as processing nodes, shall be realized. This thesis covers several research aspects on narrow-band single photons, all of which are important if such photons should be used as quantum information carriers. At first, a source for narrow-band single photons is introduced. This source is based on the concept of parametric down-conversion inside an optical resonator. It emits a constant stream of photon pairs. One of the two photons from the pair can be detected heralding the presence of the other photon. A statistical description of these photon pairs is introduced and for the first time also directly measured. In order to reach single-mode single-photon emission, the stream of photons was filtered with a specifically developed multi-pass Fabry-Perot etalon. This filter has a passband FWHM of only 165 MHz and particularly high contrast.

We investigate two different coupling schemes between a nano-scale mechanical resonator and one-electron atoms. In these schemes, classical electromagnetic radiation mediates a mutual communication between the mechanical resonator and the atoms. In the process it generates atomic coherences, quantum superpositions of excited electronic levels of the atoms. An atomic coherence is highly responsive to subtle variations in the relative frequencies of the levels participating in such superposition state. By exposing the atoms to electromagnetic radiation modulated by the motion of the mechanical resonator, we show how the response of an atomic coherence can, under appropriate conditions, be used to affect on demand the dynamical state of the mechanical resonator. The first scheme realizes a long range interface between a mechanical resonator and an ensemble of three-level atoms. Here, mechanically modulated electromagnetic radiation comes from a laser beam reflected off an oscillating mirror, the mechanical resonator. This light beam drives the transition between an excited level and a hyperfine sublevel of the atoms with a certain detuning. A weaker light beam resonantly couples to the transition between the excited level and another hyperfine sublevel. On full resonance, the atoms evolve into a stationary coherence of the above (non-absorbing) hyperfine sublevels only. The atoms then become transparent to the weaker light beam, in a phenomenon called electromagnetically induced transparency. Off resonance, we find that this transparency is modulated at the mirror frequency with some phase shift, which allows the weaker beam to cause resonant backaction onto the moving mirror. The strength of this backaction is enhanced near atomic resonances and its character can be switched between amplification or damping of mirror vibrations by adjusting the detuning. In contrast, the second scheme accomplishes a closer range interface between a torsion pendulum and guided two level Rydberg atoms. Attaching a point electric dipole to the torsion pendulum allows electromagnetic coupling to two Rydberg levels of a passing atom. This coupling modifies the eigenfrequencies of the Rydberg levels such that they become dependent on the phonon number of the torsion pendulum. Via Ramsey interferometry, we may readout this effect and thus measure the phonon number. We show that, by subjecting several atoms, one by one, to a Ramsey measurement, a quantum non-demolition detection of the phonon number is feasible. Likewise, we show coherent oscillator displacements possible, by driving the atoms with external fields while they interact with the torsion pendulum. We propose a protocol to reconstruct the quantum state of motion of the torsion pendulum, combining these two techniques, Ramsey measurements and oscillator displacements. Our interfaces between a mechanical resonator and atoms provide alternative routes for the control of the state of motion, ultimately quantum mechanical, of a mechanical resonator, in which the latter is not restricted to be part of a cavity. We will thus ease quantum dynamical manipulations of mechanical resonators of sub micron scales, for which an efficient design of cavity opto- and electro-mechanical systems is hard.