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Spontaneous emission in cavities: How much more classical can you get?

  • Part V. Invited Papers Dedicated To Asim Orhan Barut
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Abstract

Cavity-induced changes in atomic spontaneous emission rates are often interpreted in terms of quantum electrodynamical zero-point field fluctuations. A completely classical method of computing this effect in terms of the unquantized normal mode structure of the cavity is presented here. Upon applying the result to a classical dipole radiating between parallel mirrors, we obtain the same cavity correction as that for atomic spontaneous emission in such a cavity. The theory is then compared with a recent experiment in the radio-frequency domain.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. U.S. Army Missile Command, Weapons Sciences Directorate, AMSMI-RD-WS-ST Research, Development, and Engineering Center, 35898-5248, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama

    Jonathan P. Dowling

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  1. Jonathan P. Dowling
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Additional information

It is a pleasure and an honor to dedicate this paper to Professor Asim O. Barut, who, as my teacher, advisor, and friend, has been a great inspiration to me as well as many, many others.

Work supported by the National Research Council of the United States.

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Dowling, J.P. Spontaneous emission in cavities: How much more classical can you get?. Found Phys 23, 895–905 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01891512

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01891512

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