Statistical Methods in Quantum Optics 2: Non-Classical Fields (Theoretical and Mathematical Physics)

Statistical Methods in Quantum Optics 2 - Non-Classical Fields continues the development of the methods used in quantum optics to treat open quantum systems and their fluctuations. Its early chapters build upon the phase-space methods introduced in the first volume Statistical Methods in Quantum Optics 1 - Matter Equations and Fokker-Planck Equations: the difficulties these methods face in treating non-classical light are exposed, where the regime of large fluctuations – failure of the system size expansion – is shown to be particularly problematic. Cavity QED is adopted as a natural vehicle for extending quantum noise theory into this regime. In response to the issues raised, the theory of quantum trajectories is presented as a universal approach to the treatment of fluctuations in open quantum systems.

This book presents its material at a level suitable for beginning researchers or students in an advanced course in quantum optics, or a course in quantum mechanics or statistical physics that deals with open quantum systems. The text is complemented by exercises and interspersed notes that point the reader to side issues or a deeper exploration of the material presented.

Howard Carmichael earned a PhD from the University of Waikato in 1977. He joined the faculty of the University of Arkansas in 1983 and moved to the University of Oregon in 1989, where he was Professor of Physics from 1991 to 2001. He is currently a member of the Physics Department at the University of Auckland where he holds the Dan Walls Chair in Theoretical Physics. He is a Fellow of the Optical Society of America, the American Physical Society, and the Royal Society of New Zealand. Professor Carmichael was the recipient in 2003 of the Max Born Award of the Optical Society of America.