Reversible state transfer between light and a single trapped atom

We demonstrate the reversible mapping of a coherent state of light with a mean photon number (-)n approximately equal to 1.1 to and from the hyperfine states of an atom trapped within the mode of a high-finesse optical cavity. The coherence of the basic processes is verified by mapping the atomic state back onto a field state in a way that depends on the phase of the original coherent state. Our experiment represents an important step toward the realization of cavity QED-based quantum networks, wherein coherent transfer of quantum states enables the distribution of quantum information across the network.