A summary of the pioneering work of Glauber in the field of optical coherence phenomena and photon statistics, this book describes the fundamental ideas of modern quantum optics and photonics in a tutorial style. It is thus not only intended as a reference for researchers in the field, but also to give graduate students an insight into the basic theories of the field.
Written by the Nobel Laureate himself, the concepts described in this book have formed the basis for three further Nobel Prizes in Physics within the last decade.
Autorentext
Roy J. Glauber, born 1925 in New York City, was a student in the 1941 graduating class at the Bronx High School of Science. He worked on the Manhattan Project for two years before obtaining his bachelor's degree and then went on to obtain a Ph.D. from Harvard University, where he is now the Mallinckrodt Professor of Physics while also being an Adjunct Professor of Optical Sciences at the University of Arizona. Professor Glauber was awarded the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physics "for his contribution to the quantum theory of optical coherence", together with John L. Hall and Theodor W. Hansch. His groundbreaking research on optical coherence was published in 1963. The most famous contribution of Professor Glauber to physics is the notion and mathematics behind coherent states.
Inhalt
1 The Quantum Theory of Optical Coherence 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Elements of Field Theory 2
1.3 Field Correlations 7
1.4 Coherence 10
1.5 Coherence and Polarization 15
Appendix 18
References 20
2 Optical Coherence and Photon Statistics 23
2.1 Introduction 23
2.1.1 Classical Theory 27
2.2 Interference Experiments 30
2.3 Introduction of Quantum Theory 35
2.4 The One-Atom Photon Detector 38
2.5 The n-Atom Photon Detector 46
2.6 Properties of the Correlation Functions 51
2.6.1 Space and Time Dependence of the Correlation Functions 54
2.7 Diffraction and Interference 56
2.7.1 Some General Remarks on Interference 58
2.7.2 First-Order Coherence 59
2.7.3 Fringe Contrast and Factorization 64
2.8 Interpretation of Intensity Interferometer Experiments 66
2.8.1 Higher Order Coherence and Photon Coincidences 67
2.8.2 Further Discussion of Higher Order Coherence 70
2.8.3 Treatment of Arbitrary Polarizations 71
2.9 Coherent and Incoherent States of the Radiation Field 75
2.9.1 Introduction 75
2.9.2 Field-Theoretical Background 77
2.9.3 Coherent States of a Single Mode 80
2.9.4 Expansion of Arbitrary States in Terms of Coherent States 86
2.9.5 Expansion of Operators in Terms of Coherent State Vectors 89
2.9.6 General Properties of the Density Operator 92
2.9.7 The P Representation of the Density Operator 94
2.9.8 The Gaussian Density Operator 100
2.9.9 Density Operators for the Field 104
2.9.10 Correlation and Coherence Properties of the Field 109
2.10 Radiation by a Predetermined ChargeCurrent Distribution 117
2.11 Phase-Space Distributions for the Field 121
2.11.1 The P Representation and the Moment Problem 123
2.11.2 A Positive-Definite Phase Space Density 124
2.11.3 Wigner's Phase Space Density 127
2.12 Correlation Functions and Quasiprobability Distributions 132
2.12.1 First Order Correlation Functions for Stationary Fields 134
2.12.2 Correlation Functions for Chaotic Fields 136
2.12.3 Quasiprobability Distribution for the Field Amplitude 139
2.12.4 Quasiprobability Distribution for the Field Amplitudes at Two Space-Time Points 145
2.13 Elementary Models of Light Beams 148
2.13.1 Model for Ideal Laser Fields 153
2.13.2 Model of a Laser Field With Finite Bandwidth 156
2.14 Interference of Independent Light Beams 164
2.15 Photon Counting Experiments 170
References 181
3 Correlation Functions for Coherent Fields 183
3.1 Introduction 183
3.2 Correlation Functions and Coherence Conditions 184
3.3 Correlation Functions as Scalar Products 186
3.4 Application to Higher Order Correlation Functions 189
3.5 Fields With Positive-Definite P Functions 191
References 195
4 Density Operators for Coherent Fields 197
4.1 Introduction 197
4.2 Evaluation of the Density Operator 199
4.3 Fully Coherent Fields 205
4.4 Unique Properties of the Annihilation Operator Eigenstates 209
References 216
5 Classical Behavior of Systems of Quantum Oscillators 217
References 220
6 Quantum Theory of Parametric Amplification I 221
6.1 Introduction 221
6.2 The Coherent States and the P Representation 223
6.3 Model of the Parametric Amplifier 227
6.4 Reduced Density Operator for the A Mode 233
6.5 Initially Coherent State: P Representation for the A Mode 234
6.6 Initially Coherent State; Moments, Matrix Elements, and Explicit Representation f...