Abstract
The development of the quantum theory of matter and radiation hinged rather importantly upon two experimental facts, namely, the stability of atoms in their ground states, and the blackbody radiation law. The present quantum electrodynamics (QED) contains explanations of these facts along with virtually all others that atomic spectra can offer. However, many awkward divergences (such as the infinite contribution the transverse electromagnetic field makes to the electron mass) exist in the theory which must be explained away before theory and experiment agree. For this and other more philosophical reasons, further development of the theory is certainly desirable.
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References
E. T. Jaynes and F. Cummings, Proc. IEEE 51, 89 (1963);
M. D. Crisp and E. T. Jaynes, Phys. Rev. 179, 1253 (1969);
C. R. Stroud and E. T. Jaynes, Phys. Rev. A1, 106 (1970);
E. T. Jaynes, Phys. Rev. A2, 260 (1970).
L. I. Schiff, Quantum Mechanics, (McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York 1955), 2nd ed., Chap. 10.
F. R. Nash and J. P. Gordon, to be submitted to the Physical Review.
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W. Heitler, The Quantum Theory of Radiation, (Oxford University Press, London, 1944), 2nd ed., Chap. 2.
To find the effect of spontaneous emission directly on the atom in the spirit of (4) requires the evaluation of the radiation reaction field, an exercise which has been carried out in the NCT, but which is beyond the scope of the present discussion.
These points are discussed at some length in reference 3.
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© 1973 Plenum Press, New York
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Gordon, J.P., Nash, F.R. (1973). The Implications of Radiative Equilibrium in Jaynes’ Extension of Semiclassical Radiation Theory. In: Mandel, L., Wolf, E. (eds) Coherence and Quantum Optics. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2034-0_48
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-2034-0_48
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