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

Morgan & Claypool Publishers eBooks

The history of resonance fluorescence

Richard A. Dunlap

Published Apr 1, 2019• 0 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Chapter 1 introduces the concept of resonance fluorescence, beginning with the atomic case. The importance of the Heisenberg linewidth associated with a transition between quantum states as well as the recoil energy associated with photon emission is discussed. Finally, the concept of resonance fluorescence associated with nuclear transitions is discussed and the potential difficulties related to the observation of this effect are considered.

DOI
10.1088/2053-2571/ab0addch1

Related papers

The history of resonance fluorescence

Richard A. Dunlap

Chapter 1 introduces the concept of resonance fluorescence, beginning with the atomic case. The importance of the Heisenberg linewidth associated with a transition between quantum states as well as the recoil energy associated with photon emission is discussed. Finally, the concept of resonance fluorescence associated with nuclear transitions is discussed and the potential difficulties related to the observation of this effect are considered.

Institute of Physics eBooks•Dec 1, 2023•0 citations

Resonance fluorescence

Marlan O. Scully, Muhammad Suhail Zubairy

The phenomenon of resonance fluorescence provides an interesting manifestation of the quantum theory of light and is a “real world” application of the material of the Chapters 8 and 9. In this process, a two-level atom is typically driven by a resonant continuous-wave laser field and the spectral and quantum statistical properties of the fluorescent light emitted by the atom are measured. Experimentally this can be achieved by scattering a laser off a collimated atomic beam such that the directions of the laser beam, atomic beam, and detector axis are mutually perpendicular as shown in Fig. 10.1. If the driving field is monochromatic, then at low excitation intensity the atom absorbs a photon at the excitation frequency and reemits it at the same frequency as a consequence of conservation of energy. The spectral width of the fluorescent light is therefore very narrow. The situation, however, is considerably more complicated when the excitation intensity increases and the Rabi frequency associated with the driving field becomes comparable to, or larger than, the atomic linewidth. At such intensity levels, the Rabi oscillations show up as a modulation of the quantum dipole moment and sidebands start emerging in the spectrum of the emitted radiation. This so-called dynamic Stark splitting is an interesting feature of the atom–field interaction. In addition to that, the fluorescent light exhibits certain nonclassical properties including photon antibunching and squeezing. In this chapter, we develop a theory of resonance fluorescence to explain these phenomena.

Cambridge University Press eBooks•Sep 4, 1997•0 citations

Theory of resonance emission: Microscopic origins of stochastic modulation

William Rhodes

The nature of resonance emission of light, which appears as a mixture of (coherent) resonance scattering and (incoherent) resonance fluorescence, is considered. The basic conceptual elements which distinguish the scattering and fluorescence components for the linear excitation limit are developed in terms of a simple formulation whereby a molecule interacts with a coherent Lorentzian light pulse which increases exponentially with time for t<0 and is turned off at t = 0. These results together with the ideas, currently existing in the literature, that stochastic modulation of a molecule by its medium is essential for the appearance of fluorescence provide the basis for the further formulation of a theory which does not require the ad hoc introduction of a random potential. The theory developed considers the microscopic origins of manifest stochastic modulation effects in terms of a bath potential for the molecule–medium (bath) degrees of freedom. This potential, termed the sudden potential, is associated with the change in interaction with the medium that a molecule experiences upon intramolecular state transitions which are induced by external interactions (e.g., by light). Development of the reduced molecule–field density operator leads naturally to a separation of terms which describes scattering and (the propensity for) fluorescence. Critical to the theory is a four-time correlation function for the bath (sudden) potential. The difficulties inherent in defining absorption (spectrum) resonances and the corresponding distinctions between resonance and relaxed emission are discussed. Implications are considered for the further understanding of experimental results on molecular excitation dynamics in the gas phase and in supersonic jets. Sources of stochastic modulation other than material media are mentioned. In particular, the possibility is suggested of the pervasive existence of stochastic modulation through interaction of a molecule with the vacuum state of the radiation field. This raises questions concerning the fundamental relations between quantum mechanics and thermodynamics.

The Journal of Chemical Physics•Sep 15, 1981•4 citations

La fluorescence de résonance : Etude par la méthode de l’atome habillé

Serge Reynaud

Resonance fluorescence consists of photon absorption and photon reemission by an atom interacting with a monochromatic, resonant and intense laser wave. The aim of this paper is to show that all fluorescence signals can be quantitatively calculated through the dressed atom method and that simple physical pictures can be associated to the results obtained in this manner. In such a method, the compound system «atom plus laser photons interacting together» (atom dressed by the laser photons) is first considered and the emission of fluorescence photons is then included as a radiative relaxation of this new quantum system. Emission frequencies thus appear as allowed Bohr frequencies of the dressed atom and Rabi nutation appears as a quantum beat signal between dressed states. Photon correlation and photon counting signals are well understood when fluorescence is considered as a radiative cascade of the dressed atom downwards its energy diagram. Mixed analysis time-frequency, for example study of temporal correlations between photons emitted in some sidebands of the fluorescence spectrum, is suggested by the dressed atom approach. Finally, when compared with the well known optical Bloch equations method, the dressed atom is shown to have a larger validity domain for the Markov approximation On montre que la methode de l'atome habille permet un calcul quantitatif de tous les signaux de fluorescence et associe les resultats a des interpretations physiques simples. Discussion des resultats et presentation des avantages de cette methode

Annales de Physique•Jan 1, 1983•101 citations

Atomic inversion after a photon detection

Vyacheslav Shatokhin, S. Kilm

Summary form only given. Spectral detection of resonance fluorescence allows to regard atomic spectra as a sequence of elementary scattering events accompanied by emissions of photons with different frequencies. What the reduced atomic state (RAS) is after such a photon detection represents fundamental interest and appears important in understanding some correlation experiments. We report about derivation of analytic expression for the RAS for the important particular case of the well separated spectral lines of the resonance fluorescence spectrum.

Conference on Lasers and Electro-Optics•Aug 29, 2005•0 citations

Photon–atom interactions

J T Mendonça

In this chapter, we focus on the basic models describing the interaction of an atom with the radiation field. This includes the quantum Rabi model, also sometimes called the Jaynes–Cummings model, spontaneous emission, formation of dark states, the dressed atom concept, and a discussion of resonance fluorescence and Mollow triplet.

Institute of Physics eBooks•Sep 1, 2022•3 citations
Chapter 1 introduces the concept of resonance fluorescence, beginning with the atomic case. The importance of the Heisenberg linewidth associated with a transition between quantum states as well as the recoil energy associated with photon emission is discussed. Finally, the concept of resonance fluorescence associated with nuclear transitions is discussed and the potential difficulties related to the observation of this effect are considered.
The phenomenon of resonance fluorescence provides an interesting manifestation of the quantum theory of light and is a “real world” application of the material of the Chapters 8 and 9. In this process, a two-level atom is typically driven by a resonant continuous-wave laser field and the spectral and quantum statistical properties of the fluorescent light emitted by the atom are measured. Experimentally this can be achieved by scattering a laser off a collimated atomic beam such that the directions of the laser beam, atomic beam, and detector axis are mutually perpendicular as shown in Fig. 10.1. If the driving field is monochromatic, then at low excitation intensity the atom absorbs a photon at the excitation frequency and reemits it at the same frequency as a consequence of conservation of energy. The spectral width of the fluorescent light is therefore very narrow. The situation, however, is considerably more complicated when the excitation intensity increases and the Rabi frequency associated with the driving field becomes comparable to, or larger than, the atomic linewidth. At such intensity levels, the Rabi oscillations show up as a modulation of the quantum dipole moment and sidebands start emerging in the spectrum of the emitted radiation. This so-called dynamic Stark splitting is an interesting feature of the atom–field interaction. In addition to that, the fluorescent light exhibits certain nonclassical properties including photon antibunching and squeezing. In this chapter, we develop a theory of resonance fluorescence to explain these phenomena.
The nature of resonance emission of light, which appears as a mixture of (coherent) resonance scattering and (incoherent) resonance fluorescence, is considered. The basic conceptual elements which distinguish the scattering and fluorescence components for the linear excitation limit are developed in terms of a simple formulation whereby a molecule interacts with a coherent Lorentzian light pulse which increases exponentially with time for t<0 and is turned off at t = 0. These results together with the ideas, currently existing in the literature, that stochastic modulation of a molecule by its medium is essential for the appearance of fluorescence provide the basis for the further formulation of a theory which does not require the ad hoc introduction of a random potential. The theory developed considers the microscopic origins of manifest stochastic modulation effects in terms of a bath potential for the molecule–medium (bath) degrees of freedom. This potential, termed the sudden potential, is associated with the change in interaction with the medium that a molecule experiences upon intramolecular state transitions which are induced by external interactions (e.g., by light). Development of the reduced molecule–field density operator leads naturally to a separation of terms which describes scattering and (the propensity for) fluorescence. Critical to the theory is a four-time correlation function for the bath (sudden) potential. The difficulties inherent in defining absorption (spectrum) resonances and the corresponding distinctions between resonance and relaxed emission are discussed. Implications are considered for the further understanding of experimental results on molecular excitation dynamics in the gas phase and in supersonic jets. Sources of stochastic modulation other than material media are mentioned. In particular, the possibility is suggested of the pervasive existence of stochastic modulation through interaction of a molecule with the vacuum state of the radiation field. This raises questions concerning the fundamental relations between quantum mechanics and thermodynamics.
Resonance fluorescence consists of photon absorption and photon reemission by an atom interacting with a monochromatic, resonant and intense laser wave. The aim of this paper is to show that all fluorescence signals can be quantitatively calculated through the dressed atom method and that simple physical pictures can be associated to the results obtained in this manner. In such a method, the compound system «atom plus laser photons interacting together» (atom dressed by the laser photons) is first considered and the emission of fluorescence photons is then included as a radiative relaxation of this new quantum system. Emission frequencies thus appear as allowed Bohr frequencies of the dressed atom and Rabi nutation appears as a quantum beat signal between dressed states. Photon correlation and photon counting signals are well understood when fluorescence is considered as a radiative cascade of the dressed atom downwards its energy diagram. Mixed analysis time-frequency, for example study of temporal correlations between photons emitted in some sidebands of the fluorescence spectrum, is suggested by the dressed atom approach. Finally, when compared with the well known optical Bloch equations method, the dressed atom is shown to have a larger validity domain for the Markov approximation On montre que la methode de l'atome habille permet un calcul quantitatif de tous les signaux de fluorescence et associe les resultats a des interpretations physiques simples. Discussion des resultats et presentation des avantages de cette methode
Summary form only given. Spectral detection of resonance fluorescence allows to regard atomic spectra as a sequence of elementary scattering events accompanied by emissions of photons with different frequencies. What the reduced atomic state (RAS) is after such a photon detection represents fundamental interest and appears important in understanding some correlation experiments. We report about derivation of analytic expression for the RAS for the important particular case of the well separated spectral lines of the resonance fluorescence spectrum.