Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

arXiv:1811.03776 · Physical Review A

Quantum radiation from a shaken two-level atom in vacuum

Lezhi Lo, C. K. Law

Published Dec 5, 2018• 23 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

We present a nonrelativistic theory of quantum radiation generated by shaking a two-level atom in vacuum. Such radiation has the same origin of photon emission in dynamical Casimir effect. By performing a time-dependent ``dressing'' transformation to the Hamiltonian, we derive an interaction term that governs the radiation. In particular, we show that photon pairs can be generated, not only by shaking the position of the atom, but also by changing the internal states of the atom. As applications of our theory, we calculate the emission rate from an oscillating atom and the multiphoton state generated in a single-photon scattering process.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.98.063807

Related papers

Dynamical Casimir effect in resonance fluorescence

Lezhi Lo, P. T. Fong, C. K. Law

When a two-level atom interacts resonantly with a coherent electromagnetic field, the polarizability of the atom can be modulated due to the Rabi oscillations between atomic levels. We show that in the quantum vacuum, such a time-dependent atomic polarizability can lead to a resonant generation of photon pairs, a phenomenon reminiscent of photon emission in the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE). Specifically, we employ a dressing transformation to obtain an effective Hamiltonian which uncovers a polarizability-dependent parametric interaction corresponding to DCE. We determine the photon emission rate and indicate features of DCE photon pairs distinguishable from regular fluorescence photons.

Physical Review A•Sep 3, 2020•7 citations

"Shaking" of an atom in a non-stationary cavity

Fedotov, A M, Narozhny, B N, Lozovik, Yu E

We consider an atom interacting with a quantized electromagnetic field inside a cavity with variable parameters. The atom in the ground state located in the initially empty cavity can be excited by variation of cavity parameters. We have discovered two mechanisms of atomic excitation. The first arises due to the interaction of the atom with the non-stationary electromagnetic field created by modulation of cavity parameters. If the characteristic time of variation of cavity parameters is of the order of the atomic transition time, the processes of photon creation and atomic excitation are going on simultaneously and hence excitation of the atom cannot be reduced to trivial absorption of the photons produced by the dynamical Casimir effect. The second mechanism is "shaking" of the atom due to fast modulation of its ground state Lamb shift which takes place as a result of fast variation of cavity arameters. The last mechanism has no connection with the vacuum dynamical Casimir effect. Moreover, it opens a new channel of photon creation in the non-stationary cavity. Nevertheless, the process of photon creation is altered by the presence of the atom in the cavity, even if one disregards the existence of the new channel. In particular, it removes the restriction for creation of only even number of photons and also changes the expectation value for the number of created photons. Our consideration is based on a simple model of a two-level atom interacting with a single mode of the cavity field. Qualitatively our results are valid for a real atom in a physical cavity.

•Aug 15, 2000•14 citations

Atom and quantum oscillator coupled by the vacuum field: Radiation pattern, emission spectrum, and decay dynamics

P. R. Berman, C. H. Raymond Ooi

We study the dynamics of a system consisting of a two-level atom and a quantum oscillator coupled by the vacuum radiation field. The oscillator and the atom are assumed to have the same resonance frequency. In contrast to the two-atom or two-oscillator case, the atom-oscillator system leads to an unclosed hierarchy of equations for the operators that determine the radiation pattern emitted by the atom-oscillator system. Instead of using the operator equations, we formulate the problem in terms of density-matrix equations which can be solved once the initial conditions are specified. As an example, we looked at the radiation pattern, the decay dynamics, and the spectrum for an initial condition in which the oscillator is in its $n=1$ state and the atom is in its excited state. Dressed states (dressed by the static interaction between the atom and oscillator) prove to be especially useful for interpreting the results and comparing them with the two-atom and two-oscillator systems. All calculations are carried out using the resonance or rotating-wave approximation. The relationship of our work to damped Jaynes-Cummings models is noted.

Physical Review A•Jan 4, 2016•2 citations

Approximate analytical results on the cavity dynamical Casimir effect in the presence of a two-level atom

Alexandre V. Dodonov, V. V. Dodonov

We analytically study the photon generation from vacuum due to the dynamical Casimir effect in a cavity with a two-level atom, initially prepared in an arbitrary pure state. Performing small unitary transformations, we obtain closed analytical expressions for the probability amplitudes and other important quantities in the resonant and dispersive regimes.

arXiv:1112.0523•Physical Review A•Jan 17, 2012•35 citations

Multiphoton emission spectrum of two atoms interacting with two modes of radiation field

Jian Feng, Song Tong-Qiang, Wenzheng Wang +1 more

The multiphoton emission spectrum of a pair of coupling two-level atoms interacting with two modes of the radiation field is studied. A general expression for the two-mode multiphoton emission spectrum is presented. The non-degenerate two-photon emission spectra of two atoms are calculated when the two modes of the field are in various number states and some new results are obtained. It is found that the two-atom emission spectrum in the two-mode vacuum field reflects the atomic dipole-dipole interaction more sensitively than in the case of a single-mode vacuum field.

Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics•Mar 28, 1995•3 citations

Quantum theory of radiation of an excited atom placed near a microresonator containing a single-photon wavepacket: Photon correlation properties

В. В. Климов, Vladilen S Letokhov, M. Ducloy

The strong resonance interaction of a two-level atom with the continuum of quantized electromagnetic modes falling within the contour of a resonance mode of a dielectric microsphere is considered within the framework of quantum electrodynamics. Analytical solutions are derived. As an initial condition, we consider the case when, at time t = 0, the atom is excited and the resonance modes of the microsphere contain a single-photon wavepacket. It is shown that the properties of the emitted photon pair depend crucially on space-time properties of the photon wavepacket contained in the resonator. When the mean square of the electric field of the photon wavepacket at the initial instant of time at the atom position is close to the vacuum value, the radiation of an atom is similar to a spontaneous one and the emitted photon pair has no correlations. On the contrary, if the mean square of the electric field of the photon wavepacket at the initial instant of time at the atom position is substantially greater than the vacuum value, the radiation of an atom has a stimulated nature and the emitted photon pair has very complicated strong correlations. The relationship between the results obtained and the predictions of the dressed states theory are briefly discussed. The results obtained are of a general character and can be applied to the description of the resonant interaction of an excited atom and an excited resonator of an arbitrary shape.

Laser Physics•Jul 1, 2007•8 citations
We present a nonrelativistic theory of quantum radiation generated by shaking a two-level atom in vacuum. Such radiation has the same origin of photon emission in dynamical Casimir effect. By performing a time-dependent ``dressing'' transformation to the Hamiltonian, we derive an interaction term that governs the radiation. In particular, we show that photon pairs can be generated, not only by shaking the position of the atom, but also by changing the internal states of the atom. As applications of our theory, we calculate the emission rate from an oscillating atom and the multiphoton state generated in a single-photon scattering process.
When a two-level atom interacts resonantly with a coherent electromagnetic field, the polarizability of the atom can be modulated due to the Rabi oscillations between atomic levels. We show that in the quantum vacuum, such a time-dependent atomic polarizability can lead to a resonant generation of photon pairs, a phenomenon reminiscent of photon emission in the dynamical Casimir effect (DCE). Specifically, we employ a dressing transformation to obtain an effective Hamiltonian which uncovers a polarizability-dependent parametric interaction corresponding to DCE. We determine the photon emission rate and indicate features of DCE photon pairs distinguishable from regular fluorescence photons.
We consider an atom interacting with a quantized electromagnetic field inside a cavity with variable parameters. The atom in the ground state located in the initially empty cavity can be excited by variation of cavity parameters. We have discovered two mechanisms of atomic excitation. The first arises due to the interaction of the atom with the non-stationary electromagnetic field created by modulation of cavity parameters. If the characteristic time of variation of cavity parameters is of the order of the atomic transition time, the processes of photon creation and atomic excitation are going on simultaneously and hence excitation of the atom cannot be reduced to trivial absorption of the photons produced by the dynamical Casimir effect. The second mechanism is "shaking" of the atom due to fast modulation of its ground state Lamb shift which takes place as a result of fast variation of cavity arameters. The last mechanism has no connection with the vacuum dynamical Casimir effect. Moreover, it opens a new channel of photon creation in the non-stationary cavity. Nevertheless, the process of photon creation is altered by the presence of the atom in the cavity, even if one disregards the existence of the new channel. In particular, it removes the restriction for creation of only even number of photons and also changes the expectation value for the number of created photons. Our consideration is based on a simple model of a two-level atom interacting with a single mode of the cavity field. Qualitatively our results are valid for a real atom in a physical cavity.
We study the dynamics of a system consisting of a two-level atom and a quantum oscillator coupled by the vacuum radiation field. The oscillator and the atom are assumed to have the same resonance frequency. In contrast to the two-atom or two-oscillator case, the atom-oscillator system leads to an unclosed hierarchy of equations for the operators that determine the radiation pattern emitted by the atom-oscillator system. Instead of using the operator equations, we formulate the problem in terms of density-matrix equations which can be solved once the initial conditions are specified. As an example, we looked at the radiation pattern, the decay dynamics, and the spectrum for an initial condition in which the oscillator is in its n=1n=1n=1 state and the atom is in its excited state. Dressed states (dressed by the static interaction between the atom and oscillator) prove to be especially useful for interpreting the results and comparing them with the two-atom and two-oscillator systems. All calculations are carried out using the resonance or rotating-wave approximation. The relationship of our work to damped Jaynes-Cummings models is noted.
The multiphoton emission spectrum of a pair of coupling two-level atoms interacting with two modes of the radiation field is studied. A general expression for the two-mode multiphoton emission spectrum is presented. The non-degenerate two-photon emission spectra of two atoms are calculated when the two modes of the field are in various number states and some new results are obtained. It is found that the two-atom emission spectrum in the two-mode vacuum field reflects the atomic dipole-dipole interaction more sensitively than in the case of a single-mode vacuum field.
The strong resonance interaction of a two-level atom with the continuum of quantized electromagnetic modes falling within the contour of a resonance mode of a dielectric microsphere is considered within the framework of quantum electrodynamics. Analytical solutions are derived. As an initial condition, we consider the case when, at time t = 0, the atom is excited and the resonance modes of the microsphere contain a single-photon wavepacket. It is shown that the properties of the emitted photon pair depend crucially on space-time properties of the photon wavepacket contained in the resonator. When the mean square of the electric field of the photon wavepacket at the initial instant of time at the atom position is close to the vacuum value, the radiation of an atom is similar to a spontaneous one and the emitted photon pair has no correlations. On the contrary, if the mean square of the electric field of the photon wavepacket at the initial instant of time at the atom position is substantially greater than the vacuum value, the radiation of an atom has a stimulated nature and the emitted photon pair has very complicated strong correlations. The relationship between the results obtained and the predictions of the dressed states theory are briefly discussed. The results obtained are of a general character and can be applied to the description of the resonant interaction of an excited atom and an excited resonator of an arbitrary shape.