LAUSR

In atomic and molecular phase measurements using laser-induced fluorescence detection, optical cycling can enhance the effective photon detection efficiency and hence improve sensitivity. We show that detecting many photons per atom or molecule, while necessary, is not a sufficient condition to approach the quantum projection limit for detection of the phase in a two-level system. In particular, detecting the maximum number of photons from an imperfectly closed optical cycle reduces the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) by a factor of $\sqrt{2}$, compared to the ideal case in which leakage from the optical cycle is sufficiently small. We derive a general result for the SNR in a system in terms of the photon detection efficiency, probability for leakage out of the optical cycle per scattered photon, and the product of the average photon scattering rate and total scattering time per atom or molecule.