by Jin-Sheng Peng (Huazhong Normal University, China) & Gao-Xiang Li (Huazhong Normal University, China)

Preface (247k)
Table of Contents (404k)
Chapter 1: Three Pictures in Quantum Mechanics
Chapter 1.1: The Schr?dinger Picture (351k)
Chapter 1.2: The Heisenberg Picture (279k)
Chapter 1.3: The Interaction Picture (283k)
Chapter 1.4: The Density Operator (573k)

This book discusses quantum optics and investigates the quantum properties of interactions between atoms and laser fields. It is divided into three parts. Part I introduces the elementary theory of the interaction between atoms and light. Part II provides a concentrated discussion on the quantum properties of light fields. Part III deals with the quantum dynamic properties of the atoms interacting with laser fields. This book can be used as a text for both graduate and undergraduate students; it will also benefit scientists who are interested in quantum optics and theoretical physics.

• Theory of the Interaction Between Atom and Radiation Field:
  • Three Pictures in Quantum Mechanics
  • Two-Level Atom and the Optical Bloch Equation
  • Quantized Description of Radiation Field
  • Dicke Hamiltonian and Jaynes–Cummings Model
  • Quantum Theory of a Small System Coupled to a Reservoir
• The Quantum Properties of Light:
  • Coherence of Light
  • Squeezed States of Light
  • Resonance Fluorescence
  • Superfluorescence
  • Optical Bistability
  • Effects of Virtual Photon Processes
• Quantum Properties of Atomic Behavior Under the Interaction of a Radiation Field:
  • Collapses and Revivals of Atomic Populations
  • Squeezing Effects of the Atomic Operators
  • Coherent Trapping of the Atomic Population
  • Quantum Characteristics of a Two-Atom System Under the Interaction of the Radiation Field
  • Autoionization of the Atom in a Laser Field
  • Motion of the Atom in a Laser Field
  • Laser Cooling