Coherence and Quantum Optics; Proceedings of the Third Rochester Conference on Coherence and Quantum Optics held at the University of Rochester, June 21-23, 1972

xiv, 913, [1] pages. Formulae, Figures. References. Author Index. Subject Index. Format is approximately 7 inches by 10.25 inches. DJ is worn, torn, soiled and chipped. Scuff inside front board and some edge soiling. Some highlighting noted. This volume presents the written versions of papers that were delivered at the Third Rochester Conference on Coherence and Quantum Optics. The earlier conferences were held in 1960 and 1966. Approximately 250 scientists from 9 countries participated. Altogether 73 papers (including 26 invited papers) were presented in 17 sessions. The papers dealt mainly with the subjects of resonant pulse propagation, lasers, quantum electrodynamics (and alternative theories), optical coherence, coherence effects, light scattering, optical correlation, fluctuation measurement, coherent light interactions, and quantum noise. The United States Air Force Office of Scientific Research co-sponsored this conference with the University of Rochester. In physics, specifically in quantum mechanics, a coherent state is the specific quantum state of the quantum harmonic oscillator, often described as a state which has dynamics most closely resembling the oscillatory behavior of a classical harmonic oscillator. It was the first example of quantum dynamics when Erwin Schrödinger derived it in 1926, while searching for solutions of the Schrödinger equation that satisfy the correspondence principle. The quantum harmonic oscillator and hence, the coherent states arise in the quantum theory of a wide range of physical systems. The coherent state describes a state in a system for which the ground-state wavepacket is displaced from the origin of the system. This state can be related to classical solutions by a particle oscillating with an amplitude equivalent to the displacement. These states, expressed as eigenvectors of the lowering operator and forming an overcomplete family, were introduced in the early papers of John R. Klauder. The concept of coherent states has been considerably abstracted; it has become a major topic in mathematical physics and in applied mathematics, with applications ranging from quantization to signal processing and image processing. …