This book provides a classical physics-based explanation of quantum physics, including a full description of photon creation and annihilation, and successful working models of both photons and electrons. Classical field theory, known to fully describe macroscopic scale events, is shown to fully describe atomic scale events, including photon emission and annihilation. As such the book provides a ‘top-down’ unification of electromagnetic and quantum theories.
Focusing on the unresolved debate between Newton and Huygens from 300 years ago, The Nature of Light: What is a Photon? discusses the reality behind enigmatic photons. It explores the fundamental issues pertaining to light that still exist today. Gathering contributions from globally recognized specialists in electrodynamics and quantum optics, the book begins by clearly presenting the mainstream view of the nature of light and photons. It then provides a new and challenging scientific epistemology that explains how to overcome the prevailing paradoxes and confusions arising from the accepted definition of a photon as a monochromatic Fourier mode of the vacuum. The book concludes with an array of experiments that demonstrate the innovative thinking needed to examine the wave-particle duality of photons. Looking at photons from both mainstream and out-of-box viewpoints, this volume is sure to inspire the next generation of quantum optics scientists and engineers to go beyond the Copenhagen interpretation and formulate new conceptual ideas about light–matter interactions and substantiate them through inventive applications.
Advanced Electromagnetism: Foundations, Theory and Applications treats what is conventionally called electromagnetism or Maxwell's theory within the context of gauge theory or Yang-Mills theory. A major theme of this book is that fields are not stand-alone entities but are defined by their boundary conditions. The book has practical relevance to efficient antenna design, the understanding of forces and stresses in high energy pulses, ring laser gyros, high speed computer logic elements, efficient transfer of power, parametric conversion, and many other devices and systems. Conventional electromagnetism is shown to be an underdeveloped, rather than a completely developed, field of endeavor, with major challenges in development still to be met.
The physics of strong light-matter coupling has been addressed in different scientific communities over the last three decades. Since the early eighties, atoms coupled to optical and microwave cavities have led to pioneering demonstrations of cavity quantum electrodynamics, Gedanken experiments, and building blocks for quantum information processing, for which the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded in 2012. In the framework of semiconducting devices, strong coupling has allowed investigations into the physics of Bose gases in solid-state environments, and the latter holds promise for exploiting light-matter interaction at the single-photon level in scalable architectures. More recently, impressive developments in the so-called superconducting circuit QED have opened another fundamental playground to revisit cavity quantum electrodynamics for practical and fundamental purposes. This book aims at developing the necessary interface between these communities, by providing future researchers with a robust conceptual, theoretical and experimental basis on strong light-matter coupling, both in the classical and in the quantum regimes. In addition, the emphasis is on new forefront research topics currently developed around the physics of strong light-matter interaction in the atomic and solid-state scenarios.
The book is an introduction to quantum field theory applied to condensed matter physics. The topics cover modern applications in electron systems and electronic properties of mesoscopic systems and nanosystems. The textbook is developed for a graduate or advanced undergraduate course with exercises which aim at giving students the ability to confront real problems.
This book examines the nature of the coherent excitation produced in atoms by lasers, as well as the details of the transient variation of excited-state populations with time and how these depend upon such controllable parameters as laser frequency and intensity. It emphasizes the physical and mathematical theory that underlies contemporary description of this excitation. It is concerned with temporal behaviour rather than with the characteristic energy levels of the stationary status of atoms. In Volume 2, Part IV a variety of multi-state extensions of the simple two-state atom, beginning with three- state models and continuing to finite and infinite chains of excitation are examined. Part V presents and applies the theory of angular momentum to coherent excitation. The final part examines a number of extensions of coherent excitation, concluding with the theory of random processes and applications to the fluctuations that inevitably accompany excitation and act to destroy coherence. A set of appendices summarize background material.
An accessible, comprehensive reference to modern quantum mechanics and field theory. In surveying available books on advanced quantum mechanics and field theory, Franz Gross determined that while established books were outdated, newer titles tended to focus on recent developments and disregard the basics. Relativistic Quantum Mechanics and Field Theory fills this striking gap in the field. With a strong emphasis on applications to practical problems as well as calculations, Dr. Gross provides complete, up-to-date coverage of both elementary and advanced topics essential for a well-rounded understanding of the field. Developing the material at a level accessible even to newcomers to quantum mechanics, the book begins with topics that every physicist should know-quantization of the electromagnetic field, relativistic one body wave equations, and the theoretical explanation of atomic decay. Subsequent chapters prepare readers for advanced work, covering such major topics as gauge theories, path integral techniques, spontaneous symmetry breaking, and an introduction to QCD, chiral symmetry, and the Standard Model. A special chapter is devoted to relativistic bound state wave equations-an important topic that is often overlooked in other books. Clear and concise throughout, Relativistic Quantum Mechanics and Field Theory boasts examples from atomic and nuclear physics as well as particle physics, and includes appendices with background material. It is an essential reference for anyone working in quantum mechanics today.
