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Physical Review A

Spontaneous emission of atoms coupled to frequency-dependent reservoirs

Maciej Lewenstein, Jakub Zakrzewski, THOMAS W. MOSSBERG

Published Jul 1, 1988• 87 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We study the spontaneous emission of atoms coupled to frequency-dependent photon-mode reservoirs, and find atomic emission spectra qualitatively different from those of free space. Frequency-dependent photon-mode reservoirs are found in a variety of physical situations (e.g., in waveguides, microcavities, dielectrics, systems with photonic spectral gaps, etc.), and are shown to lead to nonexponential decay and concomitant complicated non-Lorentzian emission line shapes. By studying Autler-Townes spectra in the presence of a frequency-dependent photon-mode density, we present simple examples of dynamical modifications of spontaneous decay properties.

DOI
10.1103/physreva.38.808

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We study the spontaneous emission of atoms coupled to frequency-dependent photon-mode reservoirs, and find atomic emission spectra qualitatively different from those of free space. Frequency-dependent photon-mode reservoirs are found in a variety of physical situations (e.g., in waveguides, microcavities, dielectrics, systems with photonic spectral gaps, etc.), and are shown to lead to nonexponential decay and concomitant complicated non-Lorentzian emission line shapes. By studying Autler-Townes spectra in the presence of a frequency-dependent photon-mode density, we present simple examples of dynamical modifications of spontaneous decay properties.
A two-level atom coupled to a reservoir with Lorentzian spectral response function is considered. It is shown that if the free oscillations of the atomic dipole are suitably modulated by an external field, then the dynamics of the spontaneous decay can be strongly modified. As a result, the probability of finding the atom in an excited state can be large even for very long times. This is because the frequency modulation may lead to both effective detuning of the atom from the resonance with reservoir modes and to effective cancellation of the coupling between the atom and the reservoir. Non-Markovian features of the reservoir are found to be essential for this effect to be observable. Conditions of experimental verifications are provided.
The level-crossing effect for a three-level atom placed into the resonant cavity (waveguide) and illuminated by a strong monochromatic laser light is discussed. The cavity plays the role of a frequency-dependent photon reservoir that modifies the spontaneous decay of the atom. The effect is studied by considering the modifications of the level-crossing (Hanle effect) signals. The non-Markovian character of spontaneous emission in frequency-dependent reservoirs is taken into account. Calculated signals are interpreted in terms of a dressed atom picture.
Summary form only given. The majority of studies of quantum optical processes occurring in atoms interacting with modified reservoirs, such as microcavities and photonic band gap materials, have concentrated on spontaneous emission dynamics. In this paper we report our recent theoretical results on absorption and dispersion dynamics of a A-type system where one transition spontaneously decays in a two band photonic reservoir. The coupling to this modified reservoir leads to a non-Markovian spontaneous decay of the atomic state, which in return influences the dispersion and absorption properties of a probe laser pulse coupling to the other atomic transition.
[[abstract]]We study the spontaneous emission (SE) spectra of a three-level A-type atom in photonic crystals. The air-band, the dielectric-band and the free-space vacuum reservoirs coupled with the atom are considered. With the consideration of the phase difference between the air-band and the dielectric-band fields, two band reservoirs become coherent and can interfere with each other. This interference effect depends on the embedded position of the atom and the band-gap width and can affect the SE spectrum. The effect of this interference on the SE spectrum is shown.
We consider the process of spontaneous emission of a two-level atom embedded into a periodic layered dielectric structure. When the resonant atomic frequency lies within the photon-density-of-states gap, of width \ensuremath{\Gamma}, the atom emits light during a time interval t\ensuremath{\Gamma}\ensuremath{\ll}1 until the spontaneous emission becomes fully inhibited. We discuss the enhancing of spontaneous emission by tuning the atomic resonance with a one-mode microcavity. In the \ensuremath{\lambda}/4-shifted distributed feedback microcavities which possess the \ensuremath{\delta}-function-like density of states, in the middle of the gap, the process of spontaneous emission has damped Rabi oscillation behavior; the damping depends on the width of the gap and the height of its walls. A profile of the density-of-states gap can be determined from the experimental data on the temporal behavior of the atomic spontaneous decay.
We present a formula to evaluate the spontaneous emission spectra of an atom in contact with a radiation field with non-Markovian effects. This formula is written in terms of a two-time correlation of system observables and the environmental correlation function, and depends on the distance between the emitting atom and the detector. As an example, we use it to analyze the fluorescence spectra of a two level atom placed as an impurity in a photonic crystal. The radiation field within those materials has a gap or discontinuity where electromagnetic modes cannot propagate in the stationary limit. In that situation, the atomic emission occurs in the form of evanescent waves which are detected with less efficiency the farther we place the detector. The methodology presented in this paper may be useful to study the non-Markovian dynamics of any quantum open system in linear interaction with a harmonic oscillator reservoir and within the weak-coupling approximation.