Manipulating and controlling atoms and photons using optical nanofibers

Manipulating atoms and photons is one of the key issues in modern quantum optics. Various ideas have been demonstrated so far in this context. Examples would include laser cooling and trapping, electromagnetically induced transparency, and cavity quantum-electrodynamics. In this talk, we discuss a novel method to manipulate and control atoms and photons using subwavelength-diameter silica-fibers, ldquooptical nanofibersrdquo. We show how optical nanofibers can open new perspectives in quantum optics, such as modification of spontaneous emission, single-atom/photon manipulation, slowing down the light velocity, and thereby may open possible applications in quantum information technology.