The Journal of Chemical Physics
Cooperative radiationless relaxation
Marvin M. Miller, Francis K. Fong
Abstract
The theory of cooperative nonradiative multiphonon relaxation by a multiatom system is developed in the framework of the adiabatic approximation in analogy with the Dicke theory of superradiance. As a concrete example, the nonradiative decay of impurity centers doped in a crystal lattice is considered. The assumptions underlying the theoretical development and the possibility of the experimental realization of this effect are discussed.