Light interaction with extended quantum systems in dispersive media

We derive a light-matter interaction Hamiltonian to describe a quantum system embedded in a dispersive environment and coupled with the electromagnetic field. We include in this theory the spatial extension of the system, taken into account through its wavefunction. This enables us to overcome the d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNew journal of physics Vol. 22; no. 12; pp. 123047 - 123062
Main Authors Scala, Giovanni, Pepe, Francesco V, Facchi, Paolo, Pascazio, Saverio, Słowik, Karolina
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Bristol IOP Publishing 01.12.2020
Subjects
atom-photon interaction
Atomic structure
Dipoles
electromagnetic field in dispersive media
Electromagnetic fields
Physics
quantum systems with spatial asymmetry
Quantum theory
Spontaneous emission
Tensors
Wave functions
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Summary:We derive a light-matter interaction Hamiltonian to describe a quantum system embedded in a dispersive environment and coupled with the electromagnetic field. We include in this theory the spatial extension of the system, taken into account through its wavefunction. This enables us to overcome the divergence problem of the Green tensor propagator that arises from a point-like approximation of the quantum system. Thus the formalism can be applied to generalize the expressions for the spontaneous emission rate and the Lamb shift for a quantum system defined by a spatially extended dipole. In particular, these quantities can be modified by the asymmetry of the spatial structure of the atomic system as demonstrated in two test-bed examples.
Bibliography:NJP-112318.R1
ISSN:1367-2630
1367-2630
DOI:10.1088/1367-2630/abd204