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CRC Press eBooks

Introduction

M. G. Benedict, A M Ermolaev, V. A. Malyshev, I. V. Sokolov, E. D. Trifonov

Published Mar 29, 2018• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the main features of super-radiance using some simplified models. It presents a review of experimental work on super-radiance. The book also presents a generalization of the Wigner–Weisskopf approach to the N -atom system using a diagram method of non-stationary perturbation theory. It discusses several correlation functions for the field and the polarization, which characterize the coherence properties of super-radiation. The book uses the semiclassical approach to investigate the influence of de-phasing processes on radiation efficiency, or in other words, the influence of homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening of the spectral line on the dynamics and spectrum of super-radiance. It considers the boundary value problem for the transmission and reflection of short pulses, taking into account the local field correction. Two effects are of special interest: the population-dependent frequency shift and the possibility of mirror-less bistability of ultra-short electromagnetic pulses.

DOI
10.1201/9780203737880-1

Related papers

The elementary theory of super-radiance

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This chapter considers super-radiance on an elementary level in the sense that the main notions and concepts of the phenomenon will be treated as they evolved in the course of the early studies starting with the classical works by R. H. Dicke. It considers super-radiance from a system with dimensions small compared with the wavelength of the emission that is the Dicke model. The chapter discusses the results to be obtained are also applicable to the single-mode super-radiance of an extended system. It then considers mainly the cooperative spontaneous emission of a collection of N identical atoms confined within a small volume. If the audience wish to investigate the super-radiance of an extended system, the dimensions of which exceed the emission wavelength, the semiclassical method is more convenient. In essence, the semiclassical approach discussed in the chapter combines the quantum mechanical treatment of the atomic system that uses the density matrix formalism with the classical treatment of the radiation field.

CRC Press eBooks•Mar 29, 2018•0 citations

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The observation of super-radiance

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For nearly two decades, starting from the prediction of super-radiance by R. H. Dicke in 1954, the subject was generally considered as being mainly of theoretical significance. The situation changed in 1973 when Skribanowitz, Herman, MacGillivray and Feld performed experiments with low-pressure HF gas, and realized conditions where the phase memory time of the radiation centres was longer than the cooperative spontaneous emission time. This chapter describes the numerous super-radiance experiments. It demonstrates that conditions for the experimental realization of super-radiance do exist, that is under appropriate circumstances super-radiance is not suppressed by de-phasing or inhomogeneous relaxation. The experiments can be divided into two classes with respect to the time scale of the relaxation processes. In gases, the relaxation times are typically in the nanosecond range, whereas in solids these processes are faster, by at least one or two orders of magnitude. The chapter gives a description of some of these experiments both in gases and in solids.

CRC Press eBooks•Mar 29, 2018•0 citations
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the main features of super-radiance using some simplified models. It presents a review of experimental work on super-radiance. The book also presents a generalization of the Wigner–Weisskopf approach to the N -atom system using a diagram method of non-stationary perturbation theory. It discusses several correlation functions for the field and the polarization, which characterize the coherence properties of super-radiation. The book uses the semiclassical approach to investigate the influence of de-phasing processes on radiation efficiency, or in other words, the influence of homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening of the spectral line on the dynamics and spectrum of super-radiance. It considers the boundary value problem for the transmission and reflection of short pulses, taking into account the local field correction. Two effects are of special interest: the population-dependent frequency shift and the possibility of mirror-less bistability of ultra-short electromagnetic pulses.
This chapter considers super-radiance on an elementary level in the sense that the main notions and concepts of the phenomenon will be treated as they evolved in the course of the early studies starting with the classical works by R. H. Dicke. It considers super-radiance from a system with dimensions small compared with the wavelength of the emission that is the Dicke model. The chapter discusses the results to be obtained are also applicable to the single-mode super-radiance of an extended system. It then considers mainly the cooperative spontaneous emission of a collection of N identical atoms confined within a small volume. If the audience wish to investigate the super-radiance of an extended system, the dimensions of which exceed the emission wavelength, the semiclassical method is more convenient. In essence, the semiclassical approach discussed in the chapter combines the quantum mechanical treatment of the atomic system that uses the density matrix formalism with the classical treatment of the radiation field.
This chapter focuses on the relation between quantum and semiclassical approaches in super-radiance theory. The semiclassical solution can be regarded only as an ingredient of a convenient scheme for calculating quantum mechanical expectation values. Indeed, at the earliest stages, when the electric field and the polarization have not yet risen above the level of quantum fluctuations, the radiative process is not a classical one and would be greatly disturbed by measurements. The chapter presents some statistical characteristics of the linear stage of super-radiance. Super-radiance may be treated as an amplification of the field generated by quantum fluctuations of the polarization. Another aspect of super-radiance evolution is a build up of coherence both of the radiation field and the atomic polarization. Initially tiny, it grows to a macroscopic size and exhibits the statistics of super-radiance pulses. The parameters characterizing the shape of the pulse vary strongly enough within the ensemble for their root mean square deviations.
Super-radiance: Multiatomic Coherent Emission provides a comprehensive, self-contained account of the theory and experiments of the quantum optic phenomenon of superradiance. Contributed by highly regarded researchers in the field, the book first presents the theory of superradiance at a level suitable for graduate physicists approaching the subject for the first time. This introduction is followed by a more rigorous treatment that is supported by the analysis of experiments dealing with superradiance and by a discussion on the possible uses of the effect in other areas of optics and electronics. The theoretical and experimental results presented in this book will introduce a wide audience to this important area of quantum optics.
This chapter introduces a three-level atomic model and discusses two other coherent atomic phenomena; namely, coherent Raman scattering and lasing without inversion. Lasing without inversion may take place in three-level resonant atomic systems and, like super-radiance, results from atomic coherence. Super-radiation is initiated by spontaneous fluctuations of the polarization in the medium. The semiclassical method is a powerful tool that is useful for the treatment of propagation effects in super-radiance as well as in such coherent emission processes as self-induced transparency, photon echo and others. The use of the Maxwell—Bloch equations allows one to consider these phenomena in elongated systems. Fortunately, the semiclassical approach is readily applicable to low-density systems that are to gases. However, one has to exercise greater care when applying it to coherent emission in solids. In high-density systems there is a strong mixing of the field and atomic states in the vicinity of resonance.
This chapter investigates both diffraction and fluctuation effects on super-radiance within the framework of two models. Firstly, the two-dimensional theory of super-radiance of an extended system is developed. Secondly, the chapter considers the super-radiance of a 'sheet of paper' volume. However, quantum fluctuations of the initial polarization give rise to transverse inhomogeneity of atomic and field characteristics, which manifests itself in a change in the shape of the pulse and in the radiation polar diagram. The ringing of the envelope, which is typical of the one-dimensional model, becomes smoother. The super-radiance polar diagram has a ray structure, of which the angular size of individual components (rays) is of the order of the diffraction angle. The angular size of the ray is close to the diffraction angle, and its form changes relatively little from one realization of the initial polarization distribution to another.
For nearly two decades, starting from the prediction of super-radiance by R. H. Dicke in 1954, the subject was generally considered as being mainly of theoretical significance. The situation changed in 1973 when Skribanowitz, Herman, MacGillivray and Feld performed experiments with low-pressure HF gas, and realized conditions where the phase memory time of the radiation centres was longer than the cooperative spontaneous emission time. This chapter describes the numerous super-radiance experiments. It demonstrates that conditions for the experimental realization of super-radiance do exist, that is under appropriate circumstances super-radiance is not suppressed by de-phasing or inhomogeneous relaxation. The experiments can be divided into two classes with respect to the time scale of the relaxation processes. In gases, the relaxation times are typically in the nanosecond range, whereas in solids these processes are faster, by at least one or two orders of magnitude. The chapter gives a description of some of these experiments both in gases and in solids.