Physics 2203S
Quantum Optics I
(last updated 12 January 2007)
Lecturer:
Aephraim M. Steinberg
(rm 1103, tel 978-0713)
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Lectures: Mondays 1:10-2:00 in MP606
and Wednesdays 11-12 in MP1115
Office hour: Tuesdays at 11 in MP 1103, or by appointment
Note that the official course home page is
at http://ccnet.utoronto.ca/20071/phy2203hs/, where you must register so that you
will receive all course announcements et cetera. (This registration
is entirely unrelated to official registration in the course, so please
register even if you are not yet certain you will be taking the class.)
Optics is both one of the oldest and one of the most current fields of physics. It is an arena in which some of the most fundamental
studies of quantum theory have become possible; a set of tools
which are indispensable in research from atomic physics to biochemistry
to astronomy; and the basis for a broad range of technological
developments from laser machining to fibre-optic communications
and laser surgery.
This course assumes an undergraduate-level understanding of classical
optics, along with a strong background in quantum mechanics. We will proceed
from a semiclassical approach to light-matter interactions to understand
the central features of the theory and application of lasers.
We will also discuss certain applications of coherent light,
specifically in "modern" areas of optics which are related to
the quantum nature of light-- for instance, quantum noise reduction,
laser cooling, the EPR "paradox," et cetera. We will try to keep
an experimentalist's perspective throughout.
Emphasis will be on presenting an overview of a broad range of topics,
to provide students with a familiarity with the field(s) of quantum
optics as a whole. More rigorous aspects of some of our topics are
treated in later courses.
My philosophy of graduate courses is that this is the transition period to the
rest of your career as scientists, during which you will need to learn
whatever you need on your own. No longer can you expect that a textbook or a
lecturer provides all the information you may need. The role of the course is
to introduce you to important concepts, provide an incentive to read and
think and work some problems, and give you the chance to discuss these
topics with other students and with the professor. The more effort you
put into taking advantage of this, the more you will get out of the
course! You are invited to interrupt the lectures as much as possible.
(If the professor starts throwing pieces of chalk at you, you may have
gone too far, but until that point, you have carte blanche.)
PHY 2209 is a modernized version of what I used to
teach as PHY 1860 (see old web page). Given the
recent reorganisation of our graduate courses, we now
begin in the Spring, following a core course in quantum mechanics
and one on advanced classical optics. We will therefore omit
or shorten some of the classical topics we used to cover, and attempt
to get to more advanced topics.
Required text: Quantum Optics by Scully & Zubairy, Cambridge University Press, 1997.
Although there is no single book which treats all the material we will introduce
this year, this book will be an important resource.
In the past, we used books such as Milonni & Eberly for the
"classical" half of the course, moving beyond the textbook for more modern
material. Starting this year, we will instead take the complementary
approach, using a truly "quantum" book as the primary reference.
Naturally, we will not cover all the topics in the book, nor will all topics we
cover be treated in the book.
For this reason, a number of other important references are listed below...
M&E = Milonni & Eberly, Lasers, Wiley 1988.
(in addition to semiclassical laser theory and a chapter on
specific laser systems, this includes a nice smattering
of nonlinear optics, quantum optics, and applications ranging
from laser gyros to optical communications.)
A&E = Optical Resonance and Two-Level Atoms , L. Allen and J. H.
Eberly, Dover 1987, about $12
(an extremely readable account of coherent interactions between
light and model atoms)
L= The Quantum Theory of Light, Rodney Loudon
Y = Quantum Electronics 2nd edition, Amnon Yariv,
Wiley 1988
(a standard text on lasers, nonlinear optics, et cetera)
S = Lasers, Anthony Siegman, Univ Science Books 1988
(half as long as Das Kapital, and only twice as entertaining...
the Bible of laser physics)
D = Demtröder, Laser Spectroscopy
(Covers, in a somewhat synoptic fashion, an extremely wide range
of concepts and applications in modern optics, and will be a valuable
reference for any of you continuing in this field.)
CT1 = Cohen-Tannoudji, Diu, & Laloë, Quantum Mechanics
H = W. Heitler, The Quantum Theory of Radiation, Dover 1984
Drake = G.W.F. Drake, Atomic, Molecular, & Optical Physics
Handbook, AIP Press, 1996.
W&M = Walls & Milburn, Quantum Optics
M&S= Meystre & Sargent, Elements of Quantum Optics
S&Z = Scully & Zubairy, Quantum Optics
Glauber = "Optical Coherence and Photon Statistics," in Quantum Optics and Electronics,
1964 Les Houches lectures, DeWitt, Blandin, & Cohen-Tannoudji, eds.
CT2 = Cohen-Tannoudji, Dupont-Roc, and Grynberg, Atom-Photon Interactions, Wiley 1992.
The exact syllabus for this course will evolve as I continue
to get a
sense of the class's interests and preparation; you should also
feel free to provide feedback or make requests for topics to
cover later in the term.
The course is divided roughly into 6 units.
| UNIT |
LECTURES |
| 1 |
Absorption, polarizability, and gain:
the Lorentz model, and Einstein's A and B coefficients |
| 2 |
Quantum treatments of light-matter interaction
|
| 3 |
Rate equations and the basic principles of the laser;
some discussion of cavities, linewidth, and important optical elements.
|
| 4 |
Atoms in laser light (radiation forces, polarisation effects,
cooling & trapping, et cetera)
|
| 5 |
The quantum theory of light: nonclassical interference, quantum cryptography, etc.;
applications to understanding nonlinear optics
|
| 6 |
Current topics (e.g. electromagnetically-induced
transparency, quantum cryptography & teleportation, entangled
atomic ensembles, quantum memories, etc.).
|
Problem sets will account for 20% of the grade.
There will be about four homework assignments over the course of the semester.
The assignments will be due about two weeks from the day they are given out.
Late work will be penalized by 20%, but a single late assignment will be
overlooked.
Since the class has grown in size but simultaneously lost its TA budget,
grading of problem sets will be haphazard. Their purpose is to make you
think about what we're doing, and learn enough to do well on the tests
and project. You are encouraged to come discuss the problem sets with
me after they are returned, if you have questions, rather than to rely
on the minimal corrections I will be able to make in writing.
There will be a midterm, accounting for 20% of the grade.
If you have been keeping up with the problem sets, the midterm
should not present a problem, but it will give you an opportunity
to review a number of topics and develop a more coherent perspective.
The course is expected to
culminate in a one-day "mini-conference" one weekend towards
the end of term, where
each student will be expected to prepare a short (c. 20 min.) oral
report on a topic of current research interest. (Depending on
class size, the final project may instead be a written report.)
The 1998 workshop is described
here. The 1999 workshop is here .
The 2000 workshop is here .
The schedule for the 2001 workshop appears here.
The schedule for the 2002 workshop appears here.
The topics must be approved by me ahead of time. The conference
grade (including your presentation, handling of questions, and
participation in the discussion of the other presentations)
will account for 30% of the course grade.
The final exam will make up 30% of the grade.
Reading for first few lectures:
Please read sections 5.1-5.4 (pp 145-168) and
section 5.B (pp 183-184) of Scully & Zubairy.
NOTE: future reading assignments will be posted through
the official web page under "Handouts," as will problem sets,
et cetera.
Reviews and previews...
Since students come to this course with a range of backgrounds,
and even those with the best background may have an imperfect memory
of material from previous courses :-), the start of term is often
an important occasion to review some of the essential background
for the theory of light-matter interactions. Some sample references
follow below.
"Review" of quantization of the electromagnetic field: Y sect. 5.6;
H pp 54-59 (and 38-42)
A preview of coherent states, squeezing, etc.: D sect. 14.8.1; Y sect. 5.8 ;
A&E sect's 7.1-2
A review of the quantum harmonic oscillator, with a discussion of
coherent states: CT1 ch. V (and complement G_V)
Review of the Heisenberg picture: Y sec. 3.7
Review of perturbation theory: CT1 pp. 1285-1301; Y sect's 3.11-12
Reading on light-matter interaction (first 4 lectures)...
A & B coefficients, Lorentzian lines, Rabi flopping, saturation:
D sect's 2.1-3 ; 2.6.2,3,5,6 ; 3.1-2 ; 3.6.1-2
A&E sect's 1.1-4 ; 2.1-3
Optical Bloch Equations
M&E sect's 6.5 (again), 8.2
A&E ch. 2, 3.1-4
Dressed-atom approach:
CT2 pp.407-418; 454-457; Complement A-VI.
Line broadening
M&E sect's 3.9-13
D ch. 3 (recommended)
General reference on the various approaches to light-matter interaction:
``Light-Matter Interaction,'' Pierre Meystre, ch. 66 in the AIP Atomic,
Molecular, and Optical Physics Handbook, G.W.F. Drake ed., AIP Press, 1996.
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