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

Physical Review A

Decay of excited molecules in absorbing planar cavities

M. S. Tomaš, Zdravko Lenac

Published Nov 1, 1997• 47 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The decay rate of an excited molecule (atom) embedded in a dispersive and absorbing planar cavity is derived by using a recently obtained compact form of the Green's function for a multilayer. As a by-product, a hint is provided for a straightforward extension of the results obtained for lossless cavities of other shapes to the corresponding absorbing cavities. The decay rate in an absorbing cavity consists of the spontaneous emission rate and of the nonradiative rates caused by the near-field interaction of the molecule with the cavity medium and, for nearby molecules, with the cavity mirrors. Only the spontaneous emission rate is satisfactorily described in the macroscopic approach adopted. The theory is applied to an analysis of the effects of the weak cavity absorption on the decay rate in a dielectric microcavity formed by two metallic mirrors. As expected, dissipation in the cavity medium spoils the conditions for controlled spontaneuos emission and strongly suppresses the intensity of spontaneous emission. However, its effect on the spontaneous emission rate is much less pronounced.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.56.4197

Related papers

Green function for multilayers: Light scattering in planar cavities

M. S. Tomaš

A compact and transparent plane-wave expansion of the complete Green function for an absorbing multilayered system is derived. The plane-wave solutions involved match, in the appropriate limit, the space-mode functions recently employed for quantization of the radiation field in a planar cavity and make this Green function particularly convenient for consideration of optical processes in realistic cavities and multilayers in general. This is illustrated by considering classically light scattering on a molecule in a planar cavity. It is demonstrated that the cross sections derived, besides generally describing light scattering on molecules embedded in a multilayer, correctly reproduce the effects of field confinement on light scattering in a planar cavity as predicted recently by the quantum-mechanical theory of Cairo et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 1413 (1993)]. It is also pointed out that scattering into waves guided by the cavity lossy (metallic) mirrors may become an effective process in low-order microcavities. As a by product, a classical approach to spontaneous emission in absorbing planar cavities emerges from these considerations.

Physical Review A•Mar 1, 1995•247 citations

Spontaneous emission in absorbing dielectrics: tA microscopic approach

Gediminas Juzeliūnas

Decay of an excited molecule (atom) has been considered in an absorbing dielectric. The decay rate has been derived calculating the total rate of excitation transfer to the surrounding species. The contribution due to the far-zone energy transfer yields the rate of photon emission in the absorbing medium. The analysis is based on a microscopic QED theory of energy transfer in condensed phases. As a result, effects due to discreteness of the medium (such as the local field effects) are reflected intrinsically in the decay rates. The microscopic approach supports the previous introduction of the local field factors on a phenomenological basis.

Physical Review A•Jun 1, 1997•40 citations

Spontaneous decay in the presence of dispersing and absorbing bodies: General theory and application to a spherical cavity

Ho Trung Dung, L. Knöll, Dirk‐Gunnar Welsch

A formalism for studying spontaneous decay of an excited two-level atom in the presence of dispersing and absorbing dielectric bodies is developed. An integral equation, which is suitable for numerical solution, is derived for the atomic upper-state-probability amplitude. The emission pattern and the power spectrum of the emitted light are expressed in terms of the Green tensor of the dielectric-matter formation, including absorption and dispersion. The theory is applied to the spontaneous decay of an excited atom at the center of a three-layered spherical cavity, with the cavity wall being modeled by a band-gap dielectric of Lorentz type. Both weak and strong coupling are studied, the latter with a special emphasis on cases where the atomic transition is (i) in the normal-dispersion zone near the medium resonance, and (ii) in the anomalous-dispersion zone associated with the band gap. In a single-resonance approximation, conditions of the appearance of Rabi oscillations and closed solutions to the evolution of the atomic state population are derived, which are in good agreement with the exact numerical results.

arXiv:quant-ph/0003138•Physical Review A•Oct 12, 2000•269 citations

Spontaneous emission in absorbing dielectrics: A microscopic approach

Gediminas Juzeliūnas, A. Gos, W Xa

Decay of an excited molecule ~atom! has been considered in an absorbing dielectric. The decay rate has been derived calculating the total rate of excitation transfer to the surrounding species. The contribution due to the far-zone energy transfer yields the rate of photon emission in the absorbing medium. The analysis is based on a microscopic QED theory of energy transfer in condensed phases. As a result, effects due to discreteness of the medium ~such as the local field effects! are reflected intrinsically in the decay rates. The microscopic approach supports the previous introduction of the local field factors on a phenomenological basis.

Physical Review A•Jan 1, 1997•4 citations

Local-field corrections to the decay rate of excited molecules in absorbing cavities: The Onsager model

M. S. Tomaš

The decay rate and the classical radiation power of an excited molecule (atom) in the center of a dispersive and absorbing dielectric sphere, taken as a simple model of a cavity, are calculated adopting the Onsager model for the local field. The local-field correction factor to the external (radiation and absorption) power loss of the molecule is found to be $|3\ensuremath{\varepsilon}(\ensuremath{\omega})/[3\ensuremath{\varepsilon}(\ensuremath{\omega})+1]{|}^{2},$ with $\ensuremath{\varepsilon}(\ensuremath{\omega})$ being the dielectric function of the sphere. However, local-field corrections to the total decay rate (power loss) of the molecule are found to be much more complex including those to the decay rate in the infinite cavity medium, as derived recently by Scheel et al. [Phys. Rev. A $60,$ 4094 (1999)], and similiar corrections to the cavity-induced decay rate. The results obtained can be cast into general forms that do not rely on the specific cavity shape and molecule position considered. This suggests the general results for the local-field corrections to the decay rate and to the external power loss of a molecule in an absorbing cavity that are valid for molecule positions away from the cavity walls.

arXiv:quant-ph/0009057•Physical Review A•Apr 18, 2001•45 citations

Spontaneous emission near an absorbing dielectric surface

Michael S. Yeung, T. Kenneth Gustafson

The lifetime of an excited atom near an absorbing dielectric surface is calculated from an exact solution of a microscopic Hamiltonian model, which includes the effects of dispersion, local-field correction, and near-field Coulomb interaction. Results for the total decay rate are shown to be in excellent agreement with those based on classical electromagnetic theory and to yield the well-known result for the rate of nonradiative energy transfer in the limit of very small distance from the surface. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.

Physical Review A•Dec 1, 1996•100 citations
The decay rate of an excited molecule (atom) embedded in a dispersive and absorbing planar cavity is derived by using a recently obtained compact form of the Green's function for a multilayer. As a by-product, a hint is provided for a straightforward extension of the results obtained for lossless cavities of other shapes to the corresponding absorbing cavities. The decay rate in an absorbing cavity consists of the spontaneous emission rate and of the nonradiative rates caused by the near-field interaction of the molecule with the cavity medium and, for nearby molecules, with the cavity mirrors. Only the spontaneous emission rate is satisfactorily described in the macroscopic approach adopted. The theory is applied to an analysis of the effects of the weak cavity absorption on the decay rate in a dielectric microcavity formed by two metallic mirrors. As expected, dissipation in the cavity medium spoils the conditions for controlled spontaneuos emission and strongly suppresses the intensity of spontaneous emission. However, its effect on the spontaneous emission rate is much less pronounced.
A compact and transparent plane-wave expansion of the complete Green function for an absorbing multilayered system is derived. The plane-wave solutions involved match, in the appropriate limit, the space-mode functions recently employed for quantization of the radiation field in a planar cavity and make this Green function particularly convenient for consideration of optical processes in realistic cavities and multilayers in general. This is illustrated by considering classically light scattering on a molecule in a planar cavity. It is demonstrated that the cross sections derived, besides generally describing light scattering on molecules embedded in a multilayer, correctly reproduce the effects of field confinement on light scattering in a planar cavity as predicted recently by the quantum-mechanical theory of Cairo et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 1413 (1993)]. It is also pointed out that scattering into waves guided by the cavity lossy (metallic) mirrors may become an effective process in low-order microcavities. As a by product, a classical approach to spontaneous emission in absorbing planar cavities emerges from these considerations.
Decay of an excited molecule (atom) has been considered in an absorbing dielectric. The decay rate has been derived calculating the total rate of excitation transfer to the surrounding species. The contribution due to the far-zone energy transfer yields the rate of photon emission in the absorbing medium. The analysis is based on a microscopic QED theory of energy transfer in condensed phases. As a result, effects due to discreteness of the medium (such as the local field effects) are reflected intrinsically in the decay rates. The microscopic approach supports the previous introduction of the local field factors on a phenomenological basis.
A formalism for studying spontaneous decay of an excited two-level atom in the presence of dispersing and absorbing dielectric bodies is developed. An integral equation, which is suitable for numerical solution, is derived for the atomic upper-state-probability amplitude. The emission pattern and the power spectrum of the emitted light are expressed in terms of the Green tensor of the dielectric-matter formation, including absorption and dispersion. The theory is applied to the spontaneous decay of an excited atom at the center of a three-layered spherical cavity, with the cavity wall being modeled by a band-gap dielectric of Lorentz type. Both weak and strong coupling are studied, the latter with a special emphasis on cases where the atomic transition is (i) in the normal-dispersion zone near the medium resonance, and (ii) in the anomalous-dispersion zone associated with the band gap. In a single-resonance approximation, conditions of the appearance of Rabi oscillations and closed solutions to the evolution of the atomic state population are derived, which are in good agreement with the exact numerical results.
Decay of an excited molecule ~atom! has been considered in an absorbing dielectric. The decay rate has been derived calculating the total rate of excitation transfer to the surrounding species. The contribution due to the far-zone energy transfer yields the rate of photon emission in the absorbing medium. The analysis is based on a microscopic QED theory of energy transfer in condensed phases. As a result, effects due to discreteness of the medium ~such as the local field effects! are reflected intrinsically in the decay rates. The microscopic approach supports the previous introduction of the local field factors on a phenomenological basis.
The decay rate and the classical radiation power of an excited molecule (atom) in the center of a dispersive and absorbing dielectric sphere, taken as a simple model of a cavity, are calculated adopting the Onsager model for the local field. The local-field correction factor to the external (radiation and absorption) power loss of the molecule is found to be $|3\ensuremath{\varepsilon}(\ensuremath{\omega})/[3\ensuremath{\varepsilon}(\ensuremath{\omega})+1]{|}^{2},$ with $\ensuremath{\varepsilon}(\ensuremath{\omega})$ being the dielectric function of the sphere. However, local-field corrections to the total decay rate (power loss) of the molecule are found to be much more complex including those to the decay rate in the infinite cavity medium, as derived recently by Scheel et al. [Phys. Rev. A 60,60,60, 4094 (1999)], and similiar corrections to the cavity-induced decay rate. The results obtained can be cast into general forms that do not rely on the specific cavity shape and molecule position considered. This suggests the general results for the local-field corrections to the decay rate and to the external power loss of a molecule in an absorbing cavity that are valid for molecule positions away from the cavity walls.
The lifetime of an excited atom near an absorbing dielectric surface is calculated from an exact solution of a microscopic Hamiltonian model, which includes the effects of dispersion, local-field correction, and near-field Coulomb interaction. Results for the total decay rate are shown to be in excellent agreement with those based on classical electromagnetic theory and to yield the well-known result for the rate of nonradiative energy transfer in the limit of very small distance from the surface. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.