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Fluctuations, Dissipation, and Noise

Peter W. Milonni

Published Jan 31, 2019• 0 citations
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Abstract

Abstract General concepts in the theory of fluctuations and dissipation are reviewed and applied to examples in quantum optics. Brownian motion, Fokker-Planck and Langevin equations, and the Wiener-Khintchine theorem are reviewed, followed by a derivation and discussion of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. The general problem of an oscillator coupled to a heat bath is revisited, as is the nonrelativistic theory of radiation reaction. The general ideas about fluctuations and dissipation developed in the first part of the chapter are then applied to the theory of the fundamental laser linewidth, the photon statistics of linear amplifiers and attenuators, the noise figure, amplified spontaneous emission, and the quantum theory of the beam slitter and homodyne detection.

DOI
10.1093/oso/9780199215614.003.0006

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Abstract General concepts in the theory of fluctuations and dissipation are reviewed and applied to examples in quantum optics. Brownian motion, Fokker-Planck and Langevin equations, and the Wiener-Khintchine theorem are reviewed, followed by a derivation and discussion of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. The general problem of an oscillator coupled to a heat bath is revisited, as is the nonrelativistic theory of radiation reaction. The general ideas about fluctuations and dissipation developed in the first part of the chapter are then applied to the theory of the fundamental laser linewidth, the photon statistics of linear amplifiers and attenuators, the noise figure, amplified spontaneous emission, and the quantum theory of the beam slitter and homodyne detection.
Abstract This book is an introduction to quantum optics for students who have studied electromagnetism and quantum mechanics at an advanced undergraduate or graduate level. It provides detailed expositions of theory with emphasis on general physical principles. Foundational topics in classical and quantum electrodynamics, including the semiclassical theory of atom-field interactions, the quantization of the electromagnetic field in dispersive and dissipative media, uncertainty relations, and spontaneous emission, are addressed in the first half of the book. The second half begins with a chapter on the Jaynes-Cummings model, dressed states, and some distinctly quantum-mechanical features of atom-field interactions, and includes discussion of entanglement, the no-cloning theorem, von Neumann’s proof concerning hidden variable theories, Bell’s theorem, and tests of Bell inequalities. The last two chapters focus on quantum fluctuations and fluctuation-dissipation relations, beginning with Brownian motion, the Fokker-Planck equation, and classical and quantum Langevin equations. Detailed calculations are presented for the laser linewidth, spontaneous emission noise, photon statistics of linear amplifiers and attenuators, and other phenomena. Van der Waals interactions, Casimir forces, the Lifshitz theory of molecular forces between macroscopic media, and the many-body theory of such forces based on dyadic Green functions are analyzed from the perspective of Langevin noise, vacuum field fluctuations, and zero-point energy. There are numerous historical sidelights throughout the book, and approximately seventy exercises.
Classical dissipative and fluctuation phenomena have a long history beginning with the experimental work on Brownian motion in 1827 and its theoretical explanation by Einstein in 1905, followed by Langevin's elegant explanation in 1908 when he introduced the idea of a stochastic differential equation. While we briefly review this history, our emphasis is on stochastic phenomena requiring quantum mechanics. We discuss many problems in a variety of areas and point out the merits of a quantum generalized Langevin equation in providing a universal framework for the solution of such problems. As an example, we analyze in detail the problem of radiation reaction in quantum electrodynamics. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
With this work we elaborate on the physics of quantum noise in thermal equilibrium and in stationary nonequilibrium. Starting out from the celebrated quantum fluctuation-dissipation theorem we discuss some important consequences that must hold for open, dissipative quantum systems in thermal equilibrium. The issue of quantum dissipation is exemplified with the fundamental problem of a damped harmonic quantum oscillator. The role of quantum fluctuations is discussed in the context of both, the nonlinear generalized quantum Langevin equation and the path integral approach. We discuss the consequences of the time-reversal symmetry for an open dissipative quantum dynamics and, furthermore, point to a series of subtleties and possible pitfalls. The path integral methodology is applied to the decay of metastable states assisted by quantum Brownian noise.
A wide variety of dissipative and fluctuation problems involving a quantum system in a heat bath can be described by the independent-oscillator (IO) model Hamiltonian. Using Heisenberg equations of motion, this leads to a generalized quantum Langevin equation (QLE) for the quantum system involving two quantities which encapsulate the properties of the heat bath. Applications include: atomic energy shifts in a blackbody radiation heat bath; solution of the problem of runaway solutions in QED; electrical circuits (resistively shunted Josephson barrier, microscopic tunnel junction, etc.); conductivity calculations (since the QLE gives a natural separation between dissipative and fluctuation forces); dissipative quantum tunneling; noise effects in gravitational wave detectors; anomalous diffusion; strongly driven quantum systems; decoherence phenomena; analysis of Unruh radiation and entropy for a dissipative system.
This chapter deals with noise: time-dependent fluctuation of observables at or out of equilibrium. The main emphasis is on current noise. The chapter explains the use of the correlation function, the fluctuation-dissipation theorem, and thermal and vacuum fluctuations. It describes shot noise produced in out-of-equilibrium setups with a simple Schottky model, with the microscopic scattering and Boltzmann-Langevin approaches. The chapter also discusses the Langevin approach of describing coupling of noise in electrical circuits and a related description of noise measurements, and briefly explains the theory for cross correlations. The second part of the chapter discusses effects of noise on quantum systems – energy relaxation and dephasing. The chapter concludes by presenting the theory of full counting statistics and briefly describes heat current noise.
This chapter provides a summary of all results concerning the fluctuation-dissipation theorem needed to understand many aspects of noisy systems. The proof is a succinct one in density matrix language, with a review of the latter provided for those who wish to follow the proof. Callen and Welton (1951) were the first to emphasise the universal nature of the relation between fluctuations and dissipation. They provided a quantum-mechanical derivation that involved detailed sums over the eigenstates. In this chapter, density operators are introduced to deal with an ensemble of systems rather than a single system. The response function, equilibrium theorems, hermiticity and time reversal, and application of the fluctuation-dissipation theorem to a harmonic oscillator are discussed. To make some of the abstract concepts of dissipative motion become meaningful, they are illustrated by using a reservoir consisting of a continuum of harmonic oscillators.