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arXiv:quant-ph/9607026

Radiation field quantization in a nonlinear dielectric with dispersion and absorption

Eduard Schmidt, Knoell, Ludwig, Welsch, Dirk-Gunnar

Published Jul 31, 1996• 0 citations
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Abstract

The problem of quantizing the radiation field inside a nonlinear dielectric is studied. Based on the quantization of radiation in a linear dielectric which includes absorption and dispersion, we extend the theory in order to treat also nonlinear optical processes. We derive propagation equations in space and time for the quantized radiation field including the effects of linear absorption and dispersion as well as nonlinear optical effects. As a special case we derive the propagation equation of a narrow-frequency band light pulse in a Kerr medium.

DOI
10.48550/arxiv.quant-ph/9607026

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The problem of quantizing the radiation field inside a nonlinear dielectric is studied. Based on the quantization of radiation in a linear dielectric which includes absorption and dispersion, we extend the theory in order to treat also nonlinear optical processes. We derive propagation equations in space and time for the quantized radiation field including the effects of linear absorption and dispersion as well as nonlinear optical effects. As a special case we derive the propagation equation of a narrow-frequency band light pulse in a Kerr medium.
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We construct a quantum theory of light in nonlinear dielectric media with dispersion and absorption. We employ a mesoscopic model for the light-matter interaction that include a fourth-order nonlinearity in the material response. Quantization is performed by constructing an effective action in a path-integral formalism by integrating out matter and bath degrees of freedom. We show how a nonlinear response function associated with Kerr nonlinearity is obtained through the model and, after full field quantization, we derive the Feynman rules from this theory.
A technique of canonical quantization in a general dispersive nonlinear dielectric medium is presented. The medium can be inhomogeneous and anisotropic. The fields are expanded in a slowly varying envelope approximation to allow quantization. An arbitrary number of envelopes is included, assuming lossless propagation in each relevant frequency band. The resulting Lagrangian and Hamiltonian agree with known propagation equations and expressions for the dispersive energy. The central result of the theory is an expansion of the quantum Hamiltonian in terms of annihilation and creation operators corresponding to group-velocity photon-polariton excitations in the dielectric.
An introduction to the quantum theory of nonlinear optics This article is provides an introduction to the quantum theory of optics in nonlinear dielectric media. We begin with a short summary of the classical theory of nonlinear optics, that is nonlinear optics done with classical fields. We then discuss the canonical formalism for fields and its quantization. This is applied to quantizing the electromagnetic field in free space. The definition of a nonclassical state of the electromagnetic field is presented, and several examples are examined. This is followed by a brief introduction to entanglement in the context of field modes. The next task is the quantization of the electromagnetic field in an inhomogeneous, linear dielectric medium. Before going on to field quantization in nonlinear media, we discuss a number of commonly employed phenomenological models for quantum nonlinear optical processes. We then quantize the field in both nondispersive and dispersive nonlinear media. Flaws in the most commonly used methods of accomplishing this task are pointed out and discussed. Once the quantization has been completed, it is used to study a multimode theory of parametric down conversion and the propagation of quantum solitons.
Starting with the canonical quantization procedure for the electromagnetic field inside an effective (linear or nonlinear) medium, we present a direct-space formulation of the theory of quantum optics. This approach does not use the conventional modal decomposition of the field, but relies on the electromagnetic momentum operator defined in terms of local electric- and magnetic-field operators. The momentum operator contains all the information on the spatial characteristics of the field, and can describe the translation of a short light pulse in a nonlinear medium, without a modal analysis of the pulse. Propagation is described through an operatorial wave equation that relates the temporal evolution of an electromagnetic pulse to its spatial progression. Through this equation, the direct-space approach to quantum optics can treat traveling-wave nonlinear-optical phenomena and, at the same time, account for their quantum statistics. The theory is applied to squeezed-light generation by the parametric down-conversion of a short laser pulse, as an illustration.
The electromagnetic field in a dispersive dielectric medium is quantized in a straightforward manner based on the classical expression for the field energy away from absorption resonances. Results for spontaneous and stimulated radiative rates, and absorption and gain coefficients, are obtained and compared with other expressions in the literature. Local field corrections, when they exist, are included. A level shift for an atom in a host dielectric medium is obtained and interpreted as the van der Waals interaction between that atom and its neighbours in the host medium.