Abstract
When completely coherent light falls on a photoelectric detector, the number of photoelectric counts n registered in some finite time interval T obeys Poisson statistics. This is characterized by the fact that the variance ‹(∆n)2› of n equals the mean number ‹n›. When the radiation field is describable in terms of classical waves with a fluctuating light intensity, then ‹(∆n)2› in general exceeds ‹n›, as a consequence of the intensity fluctuations. However, within the framework of quantum electrodynamics there also exist quantum states of the electromagnetic field for which n is sub-Poissonian,or ‹(∆n)2› ‹ ‹n›. These states have no classical description, and the observation of sub-Poissonian statistics in a photoelectric counting experiment therefore represents evidence for the quantum nature of the field. We describe the results of such an experiment below[1].
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
A first report on this work was given by R. Short and L. Mandel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 51, 384 (1983).
L. Mandel and E. Wolf, Rev. Mod. Phys. 37, 231 (1965).
R. J. Glauber, Phys. Rev. 130, 2529 and 131, 2766 (1963).
E.C.G. Sudarshan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 10, 277 (1963); see also J. R. Klauder and E.C.G. Sudarshan, Fundamentals of Quantum Optics (W. A. Benjamin, Inc., New York, 1968 ).
H. J. Carmichael and D. F. Walls, J. Phys. B 9, L43 and 1199 (1976).
H. J. Kimble and L. Mandel, Phys. Rev. A 13, 2123 (1976).
L. Mandel, Opt. Lett. 4, 205 (1979).
R. J. Cook, Opt. Comm. 35, 347 (1980); Phys. Rev. A 23, 1243 (1981).
D. Lenstra, Phys. Rev. A 26, 3369 (1982).
H. J. Carmichael, P. Drummond, P. Meystre and D. F. Walls, J. Phys. A 11, L121 (1978).
H. Paul, Rev. Mod. Phys. 54, 1061 (1982).
Surendra Singh, Opt. Comm. 44, 254 (1983).
H. J. Kimble, M. Dagenais and L. Mandel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 39, 691 (1977).
H. J. Kimble, M. Dagenais and L. Mandel, Phys. Rev. A 18, 201 (1978).
M. Dagenais and L. Mandel, Phys. Rev. A 18, 2217 (1978).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1984 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this paper
Cite this paper
Short, R., Mandel, L. (1984). Sub-Poissonian Photon Statistics in Resonance Fluorescence. In: Mandel, L., Wolf, E. (eds) Coherence and Quantum Optics V. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0605-5_97
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-0605-5_97
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-0607-9
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-0605-5
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive