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arXiv · 2507.14075

Spontaneous emission in dipole approximation -- revisited

Paul R. Berman·Peter W. Milonni
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Abstract

Spontaneous emission in dipole approximation is studied theoretically using both source-field theory and a Schrodinger picture approach. Using source-field theory we obtain formal equations for the Poynting vector and energy density without making the rotating wave approximation (RWA) and Weisskopf-Wigner approximation (WWA). The initial condition at t=0 is one in which the atom is in an excited state and the field in the vacuum state. The source-field expressions are evaluated within the the RWA and WWA and are found to satisfy Poynting's theorem. To explore the consequences of not making the RWA and WWA, the Poynting vector and energy density are calculated using perturbation theory. We use a Schrodinger picture approach and essentially reproduce and complement the results of Compagno, Passante, and Persico [J. Mod. Optics 37:8, 1377 (2007)] and those of Power and Thirunamachandran [Phys. Rev. A 45, 54 (1992)] obtained using a Heisenberg picture approach. The theory involves a sum over field mode frequencies and both finite cutoffs and convergence factors are used to carry out the sums. It is shown that the perturbation theory calculation leads to unphysical values for atomic state populations for all times when a sum over all field frequencies is taken, even if a convergence factor is used. It is also proved that the fields calculated using source-field theory always satisfy Poynting's theorem for ct not equal to R, where R is the distance from the atom.

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Paul R. Berman, Peter W. Milonni. 2025-07-23. Spontaneous emission in dipole approximation -- revisited. https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.14075

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