Hannover 2010 – scientific programme

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A: Fachverband Atomphysik

A 29: Atomic Systems in External Fields II

A 29.6: Talk

Friday, March 12, 2010, 15:15–15:30, B 302

Spontaneous emission of light from atoms — •Nikodem Szpak¹ and Piotr Marecki² — ¹Fakultät für Physik, Universität Duisburg-Essen — ²Institut für Theoretische Physik, Universität Leipzig

We investigate (non-relativistic) atomic systems interacting with quantum electromagnetic field (QEF). The resulting model describes spontaneous emission of (single) photons from a two-level atom. By conducting the analysis on a general level we allow for an arbitrary initial state of the QEF (which can be for instance: the vacuum, the ground state in a cavity, or the squeezed state). We derive a Volterra-type equation which governs the time evolution of the amplitude of the excited state. In the vacuum case we analytically determine the asymptotics of its solutions: exponential decay at intermediate times and power-law decay at very late times. We also solve this equation numerically.