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

Photon antibunching in the micromaser

Tran Quang

Published Jul 1, 1992• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The phenomenon of photon antibunching in the micromaser is investigated. It is shown that for a wide range of the pump parameter the micromaser photons exhibit antibunching, although they need not obey sub-Poissonian statistics.
DOI
10.1103/physreva.46.682

Related papers

Photon-antibunching and sub-Poissonian photon statistics

X. T. Zou, L. Mandeļ

It is shown by example that sub-Poissonian photon-counting statistics need not imply photon antibunching, but can be accompanied by photon bunching, i.e., by the tendency of two photons to be close together more frequently than further apart. Some comments on the relation between antibunching and sub-Poissonian statistics are made.

Physical Review A•Jan 1, 1990•170 citations

Noise reduction in micromasers

Nicim Zagury, E. S. Guerra, Antonio Zelaquett Khoury +1 more

The field statistics in micromasers can be quite different from those of macroscopic lasers and masers.1,2 In particular, the field produced in these devices is expected to be sub-Poissonian for some range of the parameters, and this has been experimentally observed.3 On the other hand, evidence for the role of the pumping statistics in lasers and masers has recently been produced.4-8

Quantum Electronics and Laser Science Conference•May 12, 1991•0 citations

Photon antibunching

A. M. Fox

Abstract In the previous chapter we studied how light beams can be classified according to their photon statistics. We saw that the observation of Poissonian and super Poissonian statistics could be explained by classical wave theory, but not sub Poissonian statistics. Hence sub-Poissonian statistics is a clear signature of the photon nature of light.

•Apr 27, 2006•0 citations

Effect of pump statistics on the micromaser

János A. Bergou, Peter G. Kalman

We present a theory of the micromaser including the effect of the arrival-time statistics of the active atoms in the theoretical treatments. Our starting point is an approach that explicitly incorporates the effect of pump statistics into the dynamical description of lasers and masers. We show that the application of standard laser theory to the micromaser is tantamount to the tacit assumption of Poissonian arrival-time statistics. Hence standard laser theory and the theory of the micromaser are, in general, not equivalent, but the latter contains the former, as a limiting case, for completely random arrival times. We show, as an application, that the steady-state value of the average photon number (first moment) is essentially unaffected by the pump statistics since it depends only on the flux of active atoms (average number of atoms entering the cavity per unit time) provided the flux is constant. The intensity fluctuations (second moment), however, exhibit a stronger dependence on the pump statistics. In particular, for sub-Poissonian pump statistics the sub-Poissonian character of the field is enhanced.

Physical Review A•Apr 1, 1991•9 citations

Pump statistics and photon statistics in the micromaser

János A. Bergou, Mark S. Hillery

The statistics of the beam of excited atoms that pumps a micromaser influence the photon number distribution of the cavity field. Of the cases studied so far, regular injection statistics minimize the number fluctuations and Poisson statistics maximize them. Here we extend these studies in two directions. Previous master equations describing sub-Poissonian injection statistics were derived by using standard reservoir theory. Recently, corrections to these equations have been found that involve the commutator of the gain and loss operators. Describing the system by a discrete map, we can avoid the approximations inherent in reservoir theory. The results are compared to those of the master equation. Differences are found to be small for large photon number but increasingly important for decreasing photon number and pump beam intensity, indicating the breakdown of reservoir theory in this regime. We give an approximate expression for the photon number distribution for weak damping and discuss its connection with semiclassical theory. Finally, we generalize our treatment for super-Poissonian pump fluctuations.

Annual Meeting Optical Society of America•Jan 1, 1992•0 citations

Intensity-intensity correlations for the micromaser: Spectral and antibunching characteristics

Satish Kumar, G. S. Agarwal

We report results on different types of two-photon correlations for the micromaser field. We calculate these two-time correlations using the master equation for the micromaser field. We also present detailed results on the behavior of the eigenvalues of the Liouville operator for a range of excitation conditions and cavity parameters. We demonstrate the antibunching and the multiple-exponential decay of the micromaser field. We also discuss probing of the two-photon correlations.

Physical Review A•Jul 1, 1994•6 citations
We present a theory of the micromaser including the effect of the arrival-time statistics of the active atoms in the theoretical treatments. Our starting point is an approach that explicitly incorporates the effect of pump statistics into the dynamical description of lasers and masers. We show that the application of standard laser theory to the micromaser is tantamount to the tacit assumption of Poissonian arrival-time statistics. Hence standard laser theory and the theory of the micromaser are, in general, not equivalent, but the latter contains the former, as a limiting case, for completely random arrival times. We show, as an application, that the steady-state value of the average photon number (first moment) is essentially unaffected by the pump statistics since it depends only on the flux of active atoms (average number of atoms entering the cavity per unit time) provided the flux is constant. The intensity fluctuations (second moment), however, exhibit a stronger dependence on the pump statistics. In particular, for sub-Poissonian pump statistics the sub-Poissonian character of the field is enhanced.
The statistics of the beam of excited atoms that pumps a micromaser influence the photon number distribution of the cavity field. Of the cases studied so far, regular injection statistics minimize the number fluctuations and Poisson statistics maximize them. Here we extend these studies in two directions. Previous master equations describing sub-Poissonian injection statistics were derived by using standard reservoir theory. Recently, corrections to these equations have been found that involve the commutator of the gain and loss operators. Describing the system by a discrete map, we can avoid the approximations inherent in reservoir theory. The results are compared to those of the master equation. Differences are found to be small for large photon number but increasingly important for decreasing photon number and pump beam intensity, indicating the breakdown of reservoir theory in this regime. We give an approximate expression for the photon number distribution for weak damping and discuss its connection with semiclassical theory. Finally, we generalize our treatment for super-Poissonian pump fluctuations.