Quantum Optics: an Introduction

The Himalayan Physics, Vol.1, No.1, May 2010 Quantum Optics: An Introduction Min Raj Lamsal Prithwi Narayan Campus, Pokhara Email: [email protected] Optics is the physics, which deals with the study of in electrodynamics gave beautiful and satisfactory nature of light, its propagation in different media description of the electromagnetic phenomena. At (including vacuum) & its interaction with different the same time, the kinetic theory of gases provided materials. Quantum is a packet of energy absorbed or a microscopic basis for the thermo dynamical emitted in the form of tiny packets called quanta. It properties of matter. Up to the end of the nineteenth means the amount of energy released or absorbed in century, the classical physics was so successful a physical process is always an integral multiple of and impressive in explaining physical phenomena a discrete unit of energy known as quantum which is that the scientists of that time absolutely believed also known as photon. Quantum Optics is a fi eld of that they were potentially capable of explaining all research in physics, dealing with the application of physical phenomena. quantum mechanics to phenomena involving light and its interactions with matter. However, the fi rst indication of inadequacy of the Physics in which majority of physical phenomena classical physics was seen in the beginning of the can be successfully described by using Newton’s twentieth century where it could not explain the laws of motion is called classical physics. In fact, the experimentally observed spectra of a blackbody classical physics includes the classical mechanics and radiation. In addition, the laws in classical physics the electromagnetic theory. In classical mechanics, could not explain phenomena involving very high the matter is regarded as consisting of point particles velocities and the phenomena involving very short which move under the action of mutually interacting distance like atoms and other microscopic particles. forces according to Newton’s laws of motion i.e. Similarly, the electromagnetic wave theory could not explain phenomena like Photoelectric effect, Force (F) = mass (m) × acceleration (a) Compton Effect etc. Newton’s laws explained successfully the motion of the planets as well as many other electrically neutral On the way to explain the spectra of blackbody macroscopic bodies. The electromagnetic theory radiation, Max Planck, in 1900, gave birth to a new explained the physical phenomena concerning idea- the idea of quantum energy- that is the energy electricity and magnetism in terms of electric and is absorbed or emitted in the form of tiny packets magnetic fi elds. It was Maxwell who unifi ed electric called quanta. A packet is called a quantum. Planck and magnetic fi elds, called electromagnetic fi eld, arrived at the quantum hypothesis by assuming that and concluded that both electric and magnetic fi eld a simple harmonic oscillator acts as a resonator to vectors travel in free space as waves which carry radiation. And Planck’s idea of quantum is the seed energy. In this way, the classical picture of the world which has grown up as quantum physics in present given by the classical physics can be summarized as: day physics called modern physics. the matter consists of point particles carrying mass and radiation consisting of waves carrying energy Since its birth Max Planck’s idea of quantum energy and momentum. has been in intensive use in explaining various physical phenomena. For example: Einstein in The laws in classical physics reached its climax in 1904 used this idea to explain photoelectric effect. the later half of the nineteenth century. The laws of Similarly, De Broglie in 1912, Bohr & Frank Hertz mechanics started by Newton and their development in 1913, Stern-Gerlach in 1922, & Compton in 1923 by Lagrange, Poisson, Jacob, Hamilton etc. seemed & so on used their idea in their theories. And now a perfect and universal. Similarly, Maxwell’s equations day, the quantum physics has become indispensable 69 Lamsal/Quantum... for researches in fundamental physics. While the the intervening space (called quantum tunneling). quantum theory of Planck, as extended to atomic Information moves instantly across vast distances. structure by Bohr, Sommerfeld, & others, has In fact, in quantum mechanics we discover that the proved to be of inestimable value in the analysis entire universe is actually a series of probabilities. of atomic spectra, other methods of representing Fortunately, it breaks down when dealing with large atomic processes have been developed which are in objects, as demonstrated by the Schrödingers Cat still better agreement with the experimental facts. thought experiment. The theory that light moved in discrete bundles (i.e. In the year 1923 De Broglie put forward a new theory photons) was presented in Max Planck’s 1900 paper of quantum dynamics which at the outset met with on the ultraviolet catastrophe in black body radiation. little success. At about the same time Heisenberg put In 1905, Einstein expanded on these principles in his forward an independent theory of quantum dynamics explanation of the photoelectric effect to defi ne the which was so successful in its general applications photon theory of light. Quantum physics developed that it attracted wide attention. While both of these through the fi rst half of the twentieth century largely theories are different in mathematical formulation by understanding how photons and matter interacted Schrodinger was able to show that they lead to the and inter-related. This was viewed, however, as same result & that the two theories are in reality the a study of the matter involved more than the light same. While quantum mechanics has proved to be involved. In 1953, the maser was developed (which so successful in its mathematical formulations of emitted coherent microwaves) and in 1960 the laser atomic processes that it replaces the older quantum (which emitted coherent light). As the property of theory. the light involved in these devices became more Quantum Optics is a fi eld of research in physics, important, quantum optics began being used as the dealing with the application of quantum mechanics term for this specialized fi eld of study. to phenomena involving light and its interactions with matter. Quantum optics is a branch of quantum Taking fi ndings from quantum electrodynamics physics that focuses primarily on the behavior of (QED), it is also possible to interpret quantum optics light, or photons. At the level of quantum optics, in the form of the creation and annihilation of photons, the behavior of individual photons has a bearing on described by fi eld operators. This approach allows the the out coming light, as opposed to classical optics, use of certain statistical approaches that are useful in which was developed by Sir Isaac Newton. Lasers analyzing the behavior of light, although whether it are one application that has come out of the study represents what is physically taking place is a matter of quantum optics. Quantum optics (and quantum of some debate. As an example, Lasers (and masers) physics as a whole) views electromagnetic radiation are the most obvious application of quantum optics. as traveling in the form of a wave and a particle, a Light emitted from these devices are in a coherent phenomena called wave particle duality. The most state, which means the light closely resembles a common explanation of how this works is that classical sinusoidal wave. In this coherent state, the photons move in a stream of particles, but the the quantum mechanical wave function (and thus overall behavior of those particles are determined the quantum mechanical uncertainty) is distributed by a quantum wave function that determines the equally. The light emitted from a laser is, therefore, probability of the particles being in a given location highly ordered, and generally limited to essentially at a given time. the same energy state (and thus the same frequency & wavelength). This changed with the invention In the realm of quantum physics, observing something of the laser in 1950. Laser science i.e., research actually infl uences the physical processes taking into principles, design and application of these place. Light waves act like particles and particles act devices became an important fi eld, and the quantum like waves (called wave particle duality). Matter can mechanics underlying the laser’s principles was go from one spot to another without moving through 70 The Himalayan Physics, Vol.1, No.1, May 2010 studied now with more emphasis on the properties According to quantum mechanics, light may be of light, and the name quantum optics became considered not only as an electro-magnetic wave but customary. As laser science needed good theoretical also as a “stream” of particles called photons which foundations, and also because research into these travel with c, the vacuum speed of light. These soon proved very fruitful, interest in quantum optics particles should not be considered to be classical rose. Following the work of Dirac in quantum fi eld billiard balls, but as quantum mechanical particles theory, Glauber and Mandel applied quantum theory described by a wavefunction spread over a fi nite to the electromagnetic fi eld in the 1950s and 1960s to region. Each particle carries one quanta of energy gain a more detailed understanding of photodetection given by the relation, and the statistics of light (see degree of coherence). E = hf This led to the introduction the coherent state as a quantum description of laser light and the realization Where h is Planck’s constant and f is the frequency that only some states of light could not be described of the light. The postulation of the quantization of with classical waves. In the 1970s, Kimball light by Max Planck in 1899 and the discovery of demonstrated the fi rst source of light which required the general validity of this idea in Albert Einstein’s a quantum description, a single atom that emitted 1905 explanation of the photoelectric effect soon one photon at a time.

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