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Quantum electrodynamics under conditions of distinguishability of interacting matter entities, and of controlled actions and back-actions between them, is considered. Such "mesoscopic quantum electrodynamics" is shown to share its dynamical structure with the classical stochastic electrodynamics. In formal terms, we demonstrate that all general relations of the mesoscopic quantum electrodynamics may be recast in a form lacking Planck's constant. Mesoscopic quantum electrodynamics is therefore subject to "doing quantum electrodynamics while thinking classically," allowing one to substitute essentally classical considerations for quantum ones without any loss in generality. Implications of these results for the quantum measurement theory are discussed.

The connection between real-time quantum field theory (RTQFT) [see, e.g., A.\ Kamenev and A.\ Levchenko, Advances in Physics {58} (2009) 197] and phase-space techniques [E.\ Wolf and L.\ Mandel, {\em Optical Coherence and Quantum Optics} (Cambridge, 1995)] is investigated. The Keldysh rotation that forms the basis of RTQFT is shown to be a phase-space mapping of the quantum system based on the symmetric (Weyl) ordering. Following this observation, we define generalised Keldysh rotations based on the class of operator orderings introduced by Cahill and Glauber [Phys.\ Rev.\ {177} (1969) 1882]. Each rotation is a phase-space mapping, generalising the corresponding ordering from free to interacting fields. In particular, response transformation [L.P.\ and S.S., Ann.\ Phys. (N.Y.) {323} (2008) 1989] extends the normal ordering of free-field operators to the time-normal ordering of Heisenberg\ operators. Structural properties of the response transformation, such as its association with the nonlinear quantum response problem and the related causality properties, hold for all generalised Keldysh rotations. Furthermore, we argue that response transformation is especially suited for RTQFT formulation of spatial, in particular, relativistic, problems, because it extends cancellation of zero-point fluctuations, characteristic of the normal ordering, to interacting fields. As an example, we consider quantised electromagnetic\ field in the Dirac sea. In the time-normally-ordered representation, dynamics of the field looks essentially classical (fields radiated by currents), without any contribution from zero-point fluctuations. For comparison, we calculate zero-point fluctuations of the interacting electromagnetic\ field under orderings other than time-normal. The resulting expression is physically inconsistent: it does not obey the Lorentz condition, nor Maxwell's equations., Comment: Technically this is the final published version of quant-ph:1104.3809. In fact it is an independent paper which has little in common with that one

Generalised phase-space techniques for electromagnetic interactions beyond the rotating wave approximation [L.P. and S.S., arXiv:1104.3825 (2011)] is applied to interactions of distinguishable devices. The paper is built around the concept of "doing quantum electrodynamics while thinking classically," which is a generalisation of Sudarshan's renowned optical equivalence theorem [E.C.G. Sudarshan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 10, 277 (1963)] to the interacting electromagnetic field. This concept allows one to reduce inherently quantum problems to semiclassical considerations., Comment: Title changed to eliminate conflict with the published papers

It is shown that causality violations [M. de Haan, Physica 132A, 375, 397 (1985)], emerging when the conventional definition of the time-normal operator ordering [P.L.Kelley and W.H.Kleiner, Phys.Rev. 136, A316 (1964)] is taken outside the rotating wave approximation, disappear when the amended definition [L.P. and S.S., Annals of Physics, 323, 1989 (2008)] of this ordering is used., Comment: References updated

Wick's theorem in the Schwinger-Perel-Keldysh closed-time-loop formalism is written in a form where the place of contractions is taken by the linear response function of the field. This result demonstrates that the physical information supplied by Wick's theorem for operators is propagation of the free field in space and time., Comment: Final version, to appear in Phys Rev D

Phase-space techniques are generalized to nonlinear quantum electrodynamics beyond the rotating wave approximation, resulting in an essentially classical picture of radiation dynamics., Comment: An early version of [1], with a number of formal details omitted there

Using electromagnetic interaction as an example, response transformations [L.P. and S.S., Ann.Phys. 323, 1963, 1989 (2008), 324, 600 (2009)] are applied to the standard perturbative approach of quantum field theory. This approach is rewritten in the form where the place of field propagators is taken by the retarded Green function of the field. Unlike in conventional quantum-field-theoretical techniques, the concept of space-time propagation of quantized field is built into our techniques., Comment: This manuscript is an early version of what later became Refs. [1,2]. Some of the discussions were also included in [3-5]. The "narrow-band" case remains unpublished

We show that in complete agreement with classical mechanics, the dynamics of any quantum mechanical wave packet in a linear gravitational potential involves the gravitational and the inertial mass only as their ratio. In contrast, the spatial modulation of the corresponding energy wave function is determined by the third root of the product of the two masses. Moreover, the discrete energy spectrum of a particle constrained in its motion by a linear gravitational potential and an infinitely steep wall depends on the inertial as well as the gravitational mass with different fractional powers. This feature might open a new avenue in quantum tests of the universality of free fall., Comment: 17 pages, 7 figures, accepted in Applied Physics B; v2 has minor text and figure corrections

It is shown that response properties of a quantum harmonic oscillator are in essence those of a classical oscillator, and that, paradoxical as it may be, these classical properties underlie all quantum dynamical properties of the system. The results are extended to non-interacting bosonic fields, both neutral and charged., Comment: Accepted to Annals of Physics

We analyse nonperturbatively signal transmission patterns in Green's functions of interacting quantum fields. Quantum field theory is re-formulated in terms of the nonlinear quantum-statistical response of the field. This formulation applies equally to interacting relativistic fields and nonrelativistic models. Of crucial importance is that all causality properties to be expected of a response formulation indeed hold. Being by construction equivalent to Schwinger's closed-time-loop formalism, this formulation is also shown to be related naturally to both Kubo's linear response and Glauber's macroscopic photodetection theories, being a unification of the two with generalisation to the nonlinear quantum-statistical response problem. In this paper we introduce response formulation of bosons; response reformulation of fermions will be subject of a separate paper., Comment: Accepted to Annals of Physics

This paper deals with the concept of adiabaticity for fully quantum mechanically cavity QED models. The physically interesting cases of Gaussian and standing wave shapes of the cavity mode are considered. An analytical approximate measure for adiabaticity is given and compared with numerical wave packet simulations. Good agreement is obtained where the approximations are expected to be valid. Usually for cavity QED systems, the large atom-field detuning case is considered as the adiabatic limit. We, however, show that adiabaticity is also valid, for the Gaussian mode shape, in the opposite limit. Effective semiclassical time dependent models, which do not take into account the shape of the wave packet, are derived. Corrections to such an effective theory, which are purely quantum mechanical, are discussed. It is shown that many of the results presented can be applied to time dependent two-level systems., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures

The transient dynamics of a quantum linear amplifier during the transition from damping to amplification regime is studied. The master equation for the quantized mode of the field is solved, and the solution is used to describe the statistics of the output field. The conditions under which a nonclassical input field may retain nonclassical features at the output of the amplifier are analyzed and compared to the results of earlier theories. As an application we give a dynamical description of the departure of the system from thermal equilibrium., Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. V2: extended discussion on applications

The paper discusses the single-mode Jaynes-Cummings model with time dependent parameters. Solvable models for two-level systems are utilized to consider the changes in the photon distribution affected by the passage of atoms through the cavity. It is suggested that such systems may be used as filters to modify the photon distribution. The effect can be enhanced by repeatedly sending new atoms through the cavity. We show that such filters can cut out either small or large photon numbers. It is also shown that the method can be used to narrow down photon distributions and in this way achieve highly non-classical sub-Poissonian states. Some limitations and applications of the method are presented., Comment: 7 pages,7 figures

We introduce a procedure to measure the density matrix of a material system. The density matrix is addressed locally in this scheme by applying a sequence of delayed light pulses. The procedure is based on the stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) technique. It is shown that a series of population measurements on the target state of the population transfer process yields unambiguous information about the populations and coherences of the addressed states, which therefore can be determined., Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure

We continue our investigations of cavity QED with time dependent parameters. In this paper we discuss the situation where the state of the atoms leaving the cavity is reduced but the outcome is not recorded. In this case our knowledge is limited to an ensemble description of the results only. By applying the Demkov-Kunike level-crossing model, we show that even in this case, the filtering action of the interaction allows us to prepare a preassigned Fock state with good accuracy. The possibilities and limitations of the method are discussed and some relations to earlier work are presented., Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures

In an earlier paper we have concluded that time-dependent parameters in atom-mode interaction can be utilized to modify the quantum field in a cavity. When an atom shoots through the cavity field, it is expected to experience a trigonometric time dependence of its coupling constant. We investigate the possibilities this offers to modify the field. As a point of comparison we use the solvable Rosen-Zener model, which has parameter dependencies roughly similar to the ones expected in a real cavity. We do confirm that by repeatedly sending atoms through the cavity, we can obtain filters on the photon states. Highly non-classical states can be obtained. We find that the Rosen-Zener model is more sensitive to the detuning than the case of a trigonometric coupling., Comment: 9 pages, 5 figures

In an earlier work [P. J. Bardroff and S. Stenholm], we have derived a fully quantum mechanical description of excess noise in strongly damped lasers. This theory is used here to derive the corresponding quantum Langevin equations. Taking the semi-classical limit of these we are able to regain the starting point of Siegman's treatment of excess noise [Phys. Rev. A 39, 1253 (1989)]. Our results essentially constitute a quantum derivation of his theory and allow some generalizations., Comment: 9 pages, 0 figures, revtex

We analyze the excess noise in the framework of the conventional quantum theory of laser-like systems. Our calculation is conceptually simple and our result also shows a correction to the semi-classical result derived earlier., Comment: 4 pages, 0 figures, revtex, this version has minor changes and one additional reference, scheduled for publication SEP99 in PRA

This paper discusses a generalization of stimulated Raman adiabatic passage (STIRAP) in which the single intermediate state is replaced by $N$ intermediate states. Each of these states is connected to the initial state $\state{i}$ with a coupling proportional to the pump pulse and to the final state $\state{f}$ with a coupling proportional to the Stokes pulse, thus forming a parallel multi-$\Lambda$ system. It is shown that the dark (trapped) state exists only when the ratio between each pump coupling and the respective Stokes coupling is the same for all intermediate states. We derive the conditions for existence of a more general adiabatic-transfer state which includes transient contributions from the intermediate states but still transfers the population from state $\state{i}$ to state $\state{f}$ in the adiabatic limit. We present various numerical examples for success and failure of multi-$\Lambda$ STIRAP which illustrate the analytic predictions. Our results suggest that in the general case of arbitrary couplings, it is most appropriate to tune the pump and Stokes lasers either just below or just above all intermediate states., Comment: 14 pages, two-column revtex style, 10 figures

We show how two level atoms can be used to build microscopic models for mirrors and beamsplitters. The mirrors can have arbitrary shape allowing closed cavities to be built. It is possible to build networks or mirrors and beamsplitters and follow the time-evolution of the intensity of the radiation through the system., Comment: latex2e, 14 figures, to be published in J.Mod.Opt

We have studied the elementary excitations in a two-component Bose-Einstein condensate. We concentrate on the breathing modes and find the elementary excitations to possess avoided crossings and regions of coalescing oscillations where both components of the condensates oscillate with same frequency. For large repulsive interactions between the condensates, their oscillational modes tend to decouple due to decreased overlap. A thorough investigation of the eigenmodes near the avoided crossings is presented., Comment: Replacement, 17 pages, 9 figures

We summarize the theoretical description of wave packets on molecular energy levels. We review the various quantum mechanical effects which can be studied and the models that can be verified on this system. This justifies our claim that the wave packet constitutes a universal quantum object., Comment: 8 pages, Latex+adacta.sty, 6 Postscript figures embedded using psfig

We present a numerical study of a trapped binary Bose-condensed gas by solving the corresponding Hartree-Fock equations. The density profile of the binary Bose gas is solved with a harmonic trapping potential as a function of temperature in two and three dimensions. We find a symmetry breaking in the two dimensional case where the two condensates separate. We also present a phase diagram in the three dimensional case of the different regions where the binary condensate becomes a single condensate and eventually an ordinary gas as function of temperature and the interaction strength between the atoms., Comment: 20 pages, RevTeX, 8 Postscript figures, E-mail: ohberg@rock.helsinki.fi

Bogolyubov-De Gennes equations for the excitations of a Bose condensate in the Thomas-Fermi regime in harmonic traps of any asymmetry and introduce a classification of eigenstates. In the case of cylindrical symmetry we emphasize the presence of an accidental degeneracy in the excitation spectrum at certain values of the projection of orbital angular momentum on the symmetry axis and discuss possible consequences of the degeneracy in the context of new signatures of Bose-Einstein condensation., Comment: 4 pages, LaTeX, other comments are at http://WWW.amolf.nl/departments/quantumgassen/TITLE.HTML

We propose a realization of quantum computing using polarized photons. The information is coded in two polarization directions of the photons and two-qubit operations are done using conditional Faraday effect. We investigate the performance of the system as a computing device., Comment: 15 pages, 5 Postscript figures