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Difference equation for superradiance

C. T. Lee

Published Jan 1, 1974• 0 citations
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Abstract

The evolution of a completely excited system of N two-level atoms, distributed over a large region and interacting with all modes of radiation field, is studied. The distinction between r-conserving (RC) and r-nonconserving (RNC) processes is emphasized. Considering the number of photons emitted as the discrete independent variable, the evolution is described by a partial difference equation. Numerical solution of this equation shows the transition from RNC dominance at the beginning to RC dominance later. This is also a transition from incoherent to coherent emission of radiation.

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Quantum Statistical Theory of Superradiance. II

R. Bonifacio, P. Schwendimann, Fritz Haake

We discuss the solution of the "superradiance master equation" derived in a preceding paper. During the first few photon transient times the cooperative atomic decay goes through a non-adiabatic oscillatory regime. For later times the decay takes place monotonically in time with the electromagnetic field following it adiabatically. The emitted light pulse has different statistical properties for an incoherently and a coherently prepared "superradiant" atomic initial state. The former case is characterized by large quantum fluctuations and strong atom-atom and atom-field correlations. In the latter case quantum fluctuations are small and the system behaves essentially classically. By also solving for a class of coherently prepared intermediate initial states we show that large quantum fluctuations occur only if the initial total occupancy of the excited state differs from the total number of atoms at most by a number of order unity.

Physical Review A•Sep 1, 1971•266 citations
The evolution of a completely excited system of N two-level atoms, distributed over a large region and interacting with all modes of radiation field, is studied. The distinction between r-conserving (RC) and r-nonconserving (RNC) processes is emphasized. Considering the number of photons emitted as the discrete independent variable, the evolution is described by a partial difference equation. Numerical solution of this equation shows the transition from RNC dominance at the beginning to RC dominance later. This is also a transition from incoherent to coherent emission of radiation.
Using the results of a previous paper, we study the evolution of a completely excited system of NNN two-level atoms, distributed in a circular cylinder with dimensions much larger than the wavelength, interacting with all modes of radiation field. We emphasize the distinction between rrr-conserving (rCr\mathrm{C}rC) and rrr-nonconserving (rNCr\mathrm{NC}rNC) processes (rrr is the so-called cooperation number). Considering the number of photons emitted as the discrete independent variable, this evolution is described by a partial difference equation. Numerical solutions of this equation show the transition from rNCr\mathrm{NC}rNC dominance at the beginning to rCr\mathrm{C}rC dominance later. This is also a transition from incoherent to coherent emission of radiation.
A system of NNN identical two-level atoms, distributed over an extended region, completely excited initially, and interacting with all modes of radiation field is considered. A rate equation is proposed to describe the evolution of such a system and the transition from initial nondirectional emission to eventual directional emission is reinvestigated. An analytical expression is obtained for the critical point of this transition.
We introduce a straightforward quantum-electrodynamic approach to the problem of superradiant spontaneous emission from a system of two-level atoms, and also discuss two classical superradiant systems. The same physical concepts underlie our treatment of both the quantum and classical cases. Explicit expressions are found which describe the time evolution and directional character of the radiated power. Our approach applies to an arbitrary number of atoms which are confined to a region with linear dimensions which may be large compared with the mean wavelength of the emitted radiation. The radiative decay half-life of a large many-atom system is found to be much shorter than the natural lifetime of a single atom, but not as short as the half-life of a small atomic system with the same number of atoms. The far-field radiation pattern appropriate to the case of a circular cylinder of emitters which have been excited by a plane-wave pulse is considered in detail. Polar plots are presented of the radiation patterns produced when the atoms are excited by a plane-wave pulse. Exciting pulses traveling in directions both parallel and at an angle of 10\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} to the axis of the cylinder are considered. A discussion and generalization of Dicke's "coherence-brightening" criterion is given.
The cooperative spontaneous emission from a system of NNN identical two-level atoms, excited arbitrarily and interacting with a single mode of radiation, is studied by using the Bonifacio-Schwendimann-Haake approach. The evolution of the probability distribution of the atomic system is considered as a Markov process described by a time-evolution matrix (TEM). The exact analytic expressions for the elements of this TEM are obtained by solving the superradiance master equation. It is proved that the TEM satisfies the normalization condition and the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation as required. The exact general formulas for the expectation values of various physical observables, expressed in terms of an arbitrary initial distribution, are obtained. Finally, these results are applied to a specific example, the superradiant initial state.
The dynamics of few two-level atoms interacting with one cavity mode is described in master equation formalism. Two different configurations are considered: a transient one with all atoms initially in the excited state and a stationary one where a coherent pump acts on either the atoms or the cavity mode. Superradiance, resonant scattering and switching between a low and a high emission state are considered. Cooperation and decoherence as well as the statistics of the emitted radiation field in both cases are discussed.
We discuss the solution of the "superradiance master equation" derived in a preceding paper. During the first few photon transient times the cooperative atomic decay goes through a non-adiabatic oscillatory regime. For later times the decay takes place monotonically in time with the electromagnetic field following it adiabatically. The emitted light pulse has different statistical properties for an incoherently and a coherently prepared "superradiant" atomic initial state. The former case is characterized by large quantum fluctuations and strong atom-atom and atom-field correlations. In the latter case quantum fluctuations are small and the system behaves essentially classically. By also solving for a class of coherently prepared intermediate initial states we show that large quantum fluctuations occur only if the initial total occupancy of the excited state differs from the total number of atoms at most by a number of order unity.