Cavity QED nondemolition measurement scheme using quantized atomic motion

Considering ultracold atoms traversing a high-Q Fabry-Perot cavity, we theoretically demonstrate a quantum nondemolition measurement of the photon number. This fully quantum mechanical approach may be understood utilizing concepts as effective mass and group velocity of the atom. The various photon numbers induce a splitting of the atomic wave packet, and a time-of-flight measurement of the atom thereby reveals the photon number. While repeated atomic measurements increase the efficiency of the protocol, it is shown that by considering long interaction times only a few atoms are needed to resolve the photon number with almost perfect accuracy.