Quantum electrodynamics in the presence of dielectrics and conductors. III. Relations among one-photon transition probabilities in stationary and nonstationary fields, density of states, the field-correlation functions, and surface-dependent response functions
In this paper the physical entities such as transition probabilities and the density of states are related to appropriate electromagnetic-field correlation functions and to appropriate response functions. Such response functions have already been computed in a previous paper and therefore these can be used to obtain surface-dependent corrections. It is shown how the density of states and hence Planck's law depends on the presence of surfaces. I explicitly calculate the correction terms for the case of a small blackbody bounded by two plane conducting surfaces. An appreciable correction occurs if the linear dimensions of the blackbody are of the order of a wavelength. Next electric-dipole-type transitions in atomic systems are considered and a straightforward perturbation theory is used to obtain one-photon transition probabilities in terms of the surface-dependent response functions. As an illustration of the surface-dependent terms, the transitions in presence of a conducting surface are considered. The transition probabilities show a marked increase or decrease depending on whether the dipole transition is parallel or perpendicular to the surface. Both stationary and nonstationary fields are considered. As a special case of nonstationary fields, the transitions in a coherent field are considered in detail. It is also shown how the coherent radiation field in presence of dielectrics can be realized. It is found that if the radiation field, in arbitrary geometries, is initially in vacuum state then at later times it would be found in a coherent state if perturbed by an external ($c$-number) electromagnetic field.
In this paper the physical entities such as transition probabilities and the density of states are related to appropriate electromagnetic-field correlation functions and to appropriate response functions. Such response functions have already been computed in a previous paper and therefore these can be used to obtain surface-dependent corrections. It is shown how the density of states and hence Planck's law depends on the presence of surfaces. I explicitly calculate the correction terms for the case of a small blackbody bounded by two plane conducting surfaces. An appreciable correction occurs if the linear dimensions of the blackbody are of the order of a wavelength. Next electric-dipole-type transitions in atomic systems are considered and a straightforward perturbation theory is used to obtain one-photon transition probabilities in terms of the surface-dependent response functions. As an illustration of the surface-dependent terms, the transitions in presence of a conducting surface are considered. The transition probabilities show a marked increase or decrease depending on whether the dipole transition is parallel or perpendicular to the surface. Both stationary and nonstationary fields are considered. As a special case of nonstationary fields, the transitions in a coherent field are considered in detail. It is also shown how the coherent radiation field in presence of dielectrics can be realized. It is found that if the radiation field, in arbitrary geometries, is initially in vacuum state then at later times it would be found in a coherent state if perturbed by an external (c-number) electromagnetic field.
A quantum-electrodynamic theory of spontaneous emission in presence of dielectrics and conductors is developed. The theory makes use of the master-equation techniques and the response-function formalism of part I of this series of papers. Various observable entities such as damping coefficients (lifetimes), Lamb shifts, and frequency shifts are related to the appropriate surface-dependent response functions. The results are valid for arbitrary geometries (involving linear dielectrics) and naturally contain, as a special case, the usual results of spontaneous emission in free space. As explicit examples we consider a two-level atom (also the multilevel atom) in presence of a plane dielectric interface and between two conducting plates. Formulas for the shifts and widths are given and their asymptotic behavior for large and short distances is discussed. The behavior when the atom is embedded inside the dielectric is different than when the atom is outside the dielectric. The origin of coherence in the present model is discussed and the coherence effects in this model are contrasted with those in Dicke's model. The results are also compared with those obtained by the image method. Exact expressions for the operator radiation-reaction fields are obtained in terms of the atomic polarization operators and response functions. Approximate results for such fields are also given. The far-zone behavior of the radiation fields is obtained in terms of response functions and the polarization operators. Some of the normally ordered correlation functions are also calculated. The connection of some of the theoretical results with a recent experimental work of Carniglia, Mandel, and Drexhage is discussed. The effect of anisotropy of the dielectric function on the lifetimes as well as on the far-field correlation functions is also considered. Finally the contribution to the shifts and widths due to the excitation of surface polariton modes is computed and the results are compared with those obtained by the quantization of surface polariton field. It is found that such surface modes contribute significantly to widths.
The dependence of the multiphoton absorption probability for an atomic system on the statistical properties of the incident light is investigated. It is shown, by means of nth-order time-dependent perturbation theory, that the multiphoton absorption probability depends on the (n,n)th normally ordered correlation functions of the electromagnetic field. For stationary fields, the transition probability per unit time is constant and is directly related to the reduced cross-spectral correlation function of the electromagnetic field. This expression for the transition probability is then analyzed under various conditions of coherence. Explicit calculations are carried out for thermal light and for laser light, and the transition rates are compared when each has a Lorentzian spectrum. In particular, when the width of the final atomic level is much larger than the bandwidth of the field, the transition rate for thermal light is n! times higher than with laser light of the same mean intensity. The other extreme case, i.e., when the width of the final atomic level is much smaller than the bandwidth of the field, is also considered in detail. An equation for the density operator of the field is derived; this equation governs the change in the statistical properties of the photon system in n-photon absorption processes. On the basis of this equation, the time-dependent properties of the photon system are then studied and some physical consequences of these equations are discussed. Some numerical solutions relating to the time dependence of the factorial moments in two-photon absorption processes are presented.
Methods are developed for discussing the photon statistics of arbitrary fields in fully quantum-mechanical terms. In order to keep the classical limit of quantum electrodynamics plainly in view, extensive use is made of the coherent states of the field. These states, which reduce the field correlation functions to factorized forms, are shown to offer a convenient basis for the description of fields of all types. Although they are not orthogonal to one another, the coherent states form a complete set. It is shown that any quantum state of the field may be expanded in terms of them in a unique way. Expansions are also developed for arbitrary operators in terms of products of the coherent state vectors. These expansions are discussed as a general method of representing the density operator for the field. A particular form is exhibited for the density operator which makes it possible to carry out many quantum-mechanical calculations by methods resembling those of classical theory. This representation permits clear insights into the essential distinction between the quantum and classical descriptions of the field. It leads, in addition, to a simple formulation of a superposition law for photon fields. Detailed discussions are given of the incoherent fields which are generated by superposing the outputs of many stationary sources. These fields are all shown to have intimately related properties, some of which have been known for the particular case of blackbody radiation.
New time-dependent invariants for the N-dimensional nonstationary harmonic oscillator and for a charged particle in a varying axially symmetric classical electromagnetic field are found. For these quantum systems, coherent states are introduced, and the Green's functions are obtained in closed form. For a special type of electromagnetic field which is constant in the remote past and future, the transition amplitudes between both arbitrary coherent states and energy eigenstates are calculated and expressed in terms of classical polynomials. The adiabatic approximation and adiabatic invariants are discussed. In the special case of a particle with time-dependent mass, the solution of the Schr\"odinger equation is found. The symmetry of nonstationary Hamiltonians is discussed, and the noncompact group U(N,1) is shown to be the group of dynamical symmetry for the time-dependent N-dimensional oscillator.
The problem of electromagnetic-field quantization in time-dependent nonuniform linear nondispersive media is investigated. The explicit formulas for the number of photons generated from the initial vacuum state due to the change in time of dielectric permeability of the medium are obtained in the case when the spatial and temporal dependences are factorized. The concrete time dependences include adiabatic and sudden changes of permeability, the parametric resonance at twice the eigenfrequency of the mode, Epstein's symmetric and transition profiles, ``temporal Fabry-P\'erot resonator,'' and some others. The upper and lower bounds for the squeezing and correlation coefficients of the field in the final state are given in terms of the reflection coefficient from an equivilent potential barrier or the number of created quanta. The problem of impulse propagation in a spatially uniform but time-dependent dielectric medium is discussed.
In free space, the presence of an atom in its ground state near an excited atom undergoing an electric dipole transition, leads to a modification of the transition rate. This is shown to be modified further if the system of two atoms is located near a macroscopic surface. For small inter-atomic separations, R<< lambda 0 , ( lambda 0 is the reduced electric dipole wavelength) and for distances z,z<< lambda 0 /2 of the system from a perfectly conducting surface, the transition rate for the symmetric state, when both atomic dipoles are oriented perpendicular to the surface, is four times the rate for an isolated single atom. The antisymmetric state is stable. For a configuration in which dipoles are oriented parallel to the surface, both the symmetric and the antisymmetric states are stable. When the behaviour of the same system is investigated near the surface of a semi-infinite electron plasma, serving as a model for a metal, it is found that, in addition to the behaviour in the perfect conductor case, contributions from surface plasmon modes, and other contributions accounting for the finiteness of the plasma frequency are also exhibited.