Unexpected role of excess noise in spontaneous emission

Abstract

A single inverted two-level atom is used as a theoretical model for a quantum noise detector to investigate fundamental properties of excess noise in an unstable optical resonator. For a symmetric unstable spherical mirror cavity, we develop an analytic quantum description of the field in terms of a complete set of normalizable biorthogonal quasimodes and adjoint modes. Including the interaction with a single two-level atom leads to a description analogous to the Jaynes-Cummings model with modified coupling constants. One finds a strong position and geometry-dependent atomic decay probability proportional to the square root $\sqrt{K}$ of the excess noise factor K at the cavity center. Introducing an additional homogeneous gain one recovers the K-fold emission enhancement that has been predicted before for the linewidth of an unstable cavity laser. We find that excess noise may be viewed as a spatial redistribution of the field quantum noise inside the resonator. Taking a position average of the atomic decay rate over the cavity volume leads to a cancellation of the excess noise enhancement.