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Lecture

Quantum Optics: Atom-Field Interaction

Description

This lecture covers the full quantum theory of atom-field interaction, including the rotating wave approximation and the spontaneous emission rate. It also discusses the semiclassical model, refractive index, and gain in slow and fast light phenomena. The instructor explains the synthesis of arbitrary quantum states using unitary evolution operators and atom-photon interactions.

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Related concepts (32)

Quantum optics

Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics dealing with how individual quanta of light, known as photons, interact with atoms and molecules. It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons. Photons have been used to test many of the counter-intuitive predictions of quantum mechanics, such as entanglement and teleportation, and are a useful resource for quantum information processing. Light propagating in a restricted volume of space has its energy and momentum quantized according to an integer number of particles known as photons.

Optics

Optics is the branch of physics that studies the behaviour and properties of light, including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or detect it. Optics usually describes the behaviour of visible, ultraviolet, and infrared light. Because light is an electromagnetic wave, other forms of electromagnetic radiation such as X-rays, microwaves, and radio waves exhibit similar properties.

Resonance

Resonance describes the phenomenon of increased amplitude that occurs when the frequency of an applied periodic force (or a Fourier component of it) is equal or close to a natural frequency of the system on which it acts. When an oscillating force is applied at a resonant frequency of a dynamic system, the system will oscillate at a higher amplitude than when the same force is applied at other, non-resonant frequencies. Frequencies at which the response amplitude is a relative maximum are also known as resonant frequencies or resonance frequencies of the system.

Linear optical quantum computing

Linear optical quantum computing or linear optics quantum computation (LOQC) is a paradigm of quantum computation, allowing (under certain conditions, described below) universal quantum computation. LOQC uses photons as information carriers, mainly uses linear optical elements, or optical instruments (including reciprocal mirrors and waveplates) to process quantum information, and uses photon detectors and quantum memories to detect and store quantum information.

Fidelity of quantum states

In quantum mechanics, notably in quantum information theory, fidelity is a measure of the "closeness" of two quantum states. It expresses the probability that one state will pass a test to identify as the other. The fidelity is not a metric on the space of density matrices, but it can be used to define the Bures metric on this space. Given two density operators and , the fidelity is generally defined as the quantity . In the special case where and represent pure quantum states, namely, and , the definition reduces to the squared overlap between the states: .

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