Elements Of Quantum Optics

From the reviews: "This is a book that should be found in any physics library. It is extremely useful for all graduate students, Ph.D. students and researchers interested in the quantum physics of light." Optics & Photonics News

With a new chapter on quantum entanglement and quantum information, as well as added discussions of the quantum beam splitter, electromagnetically induced transparency, slow light and the input-output formalism, this fourth edition of the brilliant work on quantum optics has been much updated. It still gives a self-contained and broad coverage of the basic elements necessary to understand and carry out research in laser physics and quantum optics, including a review of basic quantum mechanics and pedagogical introductions to system-reservoir interactions and to second quantization. The text reveals the close connection between many seemingly unrelated topics, such as probe absorption, four-wave mixing, optical instabilities, resonance fluorescence and squeezing.

This book grew out of a 2-semester graduate course in laser physics and quantum optics. It requires a solid understanding of elementary electro magnetism as well as at least one, but preferably two, semesters of quantum mechanics. Its present form resulted from many years of teaching and research at the University of Arizona, the Max-Planck-Institut fiir Quanten optik, and the University of Munich. The contents have evolved signifi cantly over the years, due to the fact that quantum optics is a rapidly chang ing field. Because the amount of material that can be covered in two semes ters is finite, a number of topics had to be left out or shortened when new material was added. Important omissions include the manipulation of atomic trajectories by light, superradiance, and descriptions of experiments. Rather than treating any given topic in great depth, this book aims to give a broad coverage of the basic elements that we consider necessary to carry out research in quantum optics. We have attempted to present a vari ety of theoretical tools, so that after completion of the course students should be able to understand specialized research literature and to produce original research of their own. In doing so, we have always sacrificed rigor to physical insight and have used the concept of "simplest nontrivial exam ple" to illustrate techniques or results that can be generalized to more com plicated situations.

The book gives a broad coverage of the basic elements necessary to understand and carry out research in quantum optics. It presents a variety of theoretical tools and important results for two-level and semiconductor media, many of which could only be found in the original literature of in specialized monographs up to now. The text reveals the close connection between many seemingly unrelated topics. The book "e;Quantum Optics"e; has been written to meet the requirement of the degree and post graduate students. The subject matter has been discussed in such a simple way that the students will find no difficult to understand it. Most of the examples given in the book have been selected from various university examination papers and the book cover the syllabus of almost all the universities.

This book grew out of a 2-semester graduate course in laser physics and quantum optics. It requires a solid understanding of elementary electro magnetism as well as at least one, but preferably two, semesters of quantum mechanics. Its present form resulted from many years of teaching and research at the University of Arizona, the Max-Planck-Institut fiir Quanten optik, and the University of Munich. The contents have evolved signifi cantly over the years, due to the fact that quantum optics is a rapidly chang ing field. Because the amount of material that can be covered in two semes ters is finite, a number of topics had to be left out or shortened when new material was added. Important omissions include the manipulation of atomic trajectories by light, superradiance, and descriptions of experiments. Rather than treating any given topic in great depth, this book aims to give a broad coverage of the basic elements that we consider necessary to carry out research in quantum optics. We have attempted to present a vari ety of theoretical tools, so that after completion of the course students should be able to understand specialized research literature and to produce original research of their own. In doing so, we have always sacrificed rigor to physical insight and have used the concept of "simplest nontrivial exam ple" to illustrate techniques or results that can be generalized to more com plicated situations.

Quantum mechanics does away with the distinction between particles and waves, and one of the more interesting implications of the wave/particle duality - the discovery that atoms may be manipulated in ways analogous to the manipulation of light with lenses and mirrors - has formed the basis for the relatively new field of atom optics. Pierre Meystre's Atom Optics is the first book entirely devoted to this exciting area of research. Reference links to the leading journals in the field, links to research sites, graphics, and updates can be found online.

This book is a thoroughly modern and highly pedagogical graduate-level introduction to quantum optics, a subject which has witnessed stunning developments in recent years and has come to occupy a central role in the 'second quantum revolution'. The reader is invited to explore the fundamental role that quantum optics plays in the control and manipulation of quantum systems, leading to ultracold atoms, circuit QED, quantum information science, quantum optomechanics, and quantum metrology. The building blocks of the subject are presented in a sequential fashion, starting from the simplest physical situations before moving to increasingly complicated ones. This pedagogically appealing approach leads to quantum entanglement and measurement theory being introduced early on and before more specialized topics such as cavity QED or laser cooling. The final chapter illustrates the power of scientific cross-fertilization by surveying cutting-edge applications of quantum optics and optomechanics in gravitational wave detection, tests of fundamental physics, searches for dark matter, geophysical monitoring, and ultraprecise clocks. Complete with worked examples and exercises, this book provides the reader with enough background knowledge and understanding to follow the current journal literature and begin producing their own original research.