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Spie Press Book

Field Guide to Light-Matter Interaction
Author(s): Galina Nemova
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Book Description

Our understanding of the interaction of light and matter has a long history that evolved from the ancient corpuscular theory to wave theory and finally to the quantum theory. Matter is composed of charged particles, and among these particles are positively charged nuclei surrounded by electrons that are in motion. Light is an oscillating electromagnetic wave. But light is also particles (photons). The primary objective of this Field Guide is to provide the principles of light–matter interaction using classical, semiclassical, and quantum theories. To this end, the guide provides the formulae for, and descriptions of, phenomena that are fundamental to our current state of knowledge of light–matter interaction.
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Book Details

Date Published: 16 May 2022
Pages: 170
ISBN: 9781510646995
Volume: FG51

Table of Contents
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Preface
Glossary of Symbols and Acronyms

Introduction
Light and Matter in Ancient Greece
Light and Matter in the Common Era

Light: Waves and Particles
The Current Evolution of the Concept of Light
Maxwell's Equations
Boundary Conditions
Electromagnetic Waves
Properties of Electromagnetic Waves
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Cavity Radiation
The Stefan–Boltzmann Law
Planck's Law for Cavity Radiation
Blackbody Radiation
The Photon
Temporal and Spatial Coherence

Matter

Atoms
The Bohr Theory of the Hydrogen Atom
Wave–Particle Duality
Wavefunction
The Schrödinger Equation
A Solution to the Schrödinger Equation
Quantum States
Quantum Mechanical Measurements
Operators and Expectation Values
Density Matrix
Wave Packet
The Schrödinger Equation for Single-Electron Atoms
Quantum Numbers
Selection Rules
Electron Spin
Spin–Orbit Interaction
Total Angular Momentum of Single-Electron Atoms
Total Angular Momentum of Multi-Electron Atoms
Independent-Particle Approximation
Periodic Table of Elements
Mendeleev's Periodic Table

Molecules
Classification of Simple Molecules
Molecular Vibrations
Molecular Rotations
Molecular Transitions

Gases, Liquids, and Solids
The van der Waals Interaction and Covalent Solids
Ionic and Metallic Solids
Energy Bands in Solids

Phonons
Crystal Lattice
Reciprocal Lattice
The Debye Frequency
Lattice Vibrations
Quantized Vibrational Modes

Classification of Light–Matter Interaction Processes

Light–Atom, Light–Molecule, and Light–Solid Interaction
Rabi Frequency
The Stark Effect
The Zeeman Effect
The Electron Oscillator Model
Spontaneous Emission
Classical Oscillator Absorption
Light Absorption
Stimulated Emission
Oscillator Strength
Frictional Process
Radiative Broadening
Collisional Broadening
Doppler Broadening
Homogeneous and Inhomogeneous Broadening
Active Media
Einstein A and B Coefficients
Solid-State Laser Operation
Absorption and Stimulated Emission Cross Sections
Absorption and Gain Coefficients
Population Inversion
Three-Level Laser Scheme
Gain Saturation
Laser Threshold Gain

Coherence in Light–Atom Interaction
Optical Bloch Equations
The Bloch Sphere
Photon Echo
Collective Spontaneous Emission
Spontaneous Radiation and Superradiance
Superradiance Compared with Superfluorencence
Self-Induced Transparency

Electromagnetic Field Generation
Vector and Scalar Potentials
Near Field, Intermediate Field, and Far Field
Oscillating Electric Dipole
Oscillating Magnetic Dipole
Electric Dipole versus Magnetic Dipole
Quantization of the Electromagnetic Field

Light Propagation
Polarization of a Dielectric Medium
Light Propagation in a Dielectric
Normal and Anomalous Dispersion
Light Propagation in a Metal
Polaritons
Dielectric Function
Surface Polaritons
Resonant Linear Susceptibility

Nonlinear Optical Effects
Anharmonic Oscillator
First-Order Classical Electric Susceptibility
Second-Order Classical Electric Susceptibility
Time-Dependent Perturbation Theory
Perturbative Corrections in the Electric Field
Polarization Calculation
Linear and Nonlinear Susceptibilities
Nonlinear Optics Effects

Second-Order Optical Wave Interactions
The Linear Electro-Optic Effect
The Wave Equation for Nonlinear Media
Coupled-Wave Equations
Second-Harmonic Generation
Difference-Frequency Generation
Phase-Matching Conditions

Third-Order Optical Wave Interactions
Third-Order Nonlinear Optical Interactions
Self-Focusing
Self-Phase Modulation
Solitons
Four-Wave Mixing
Third-Harmonic Generation
Spontaneous Raman Scattering
Raman Active Phonons
Stimulated Raman Scattering
Spontaneous Brillouin Scattering
Principals of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering
Stimulated Brillouin Scattering

Light–Plasma Interaction
The Debye–Hückel Length
Plasma Permittivity
Electromagnetic Waves in a Plasma

Optical Pressure
A Short History of Optical Pressure
Optical Force in the Ray Optics Regime
Optical Trapping as Scattering
Optical Force in Rayleigh (Dipole) Approximation

Equation Summary

Bibliography of Further Reading
Index

The interaction of light and matter has been a subject of scientific research since the 5th century BC. Its investigation has resulted in the evolution from the ancient corpuscular theory to the wave theory and finally to the quantum theory. Application of the theoretical research on light–matter interaction has led to numerous scientific achievements, including lasers, optical trapping, and optical cooling, among others. Indeed, it has brought into existence the entire field of photonics.

The primary objective of Field Guide to Light–Matter Interaction is to provide an overview of the basic principles of light and matter interaction using classical, semiclassical, and quantum approaches. The book covers basic photonics concepts using classical electrodynamics. A vast majority of light–matter interaction problems can be treated to a high accuracy within the semiclassical theory, where atoms with quantized energy levels interact with classical electromagnetic fields. The concepts involved in these problems are all addressed. The book also considers the interaction of matter with quantized electromagnetic fields consisting of photons. This approach gives a complete account of light–matter interaction, explaining many effects (such as the photoelectric effect) that cannot be explained using classical electromagnetic fields. The book elucidates the interaction of electromagnetic waves with atoms, molecules, solids, and plasma. It also covers the main concepts of optical pressure.

Field Guide to Light–Matter Interaction can also serve as a complement to Field Guide to Laser Cooling Methods, published by SPIE Press in 2019.

I would like to thank SPIE Director of Publications Patrick Franzen and Field Guide Series Editor Scott Tyo for the opportunity to write a Field Guide for one of the most interesting areas of current scientific research. I also wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their many useful suggestions and comments on the draft of this Field Guide. Finally, I wish to thank SPIE Press Sr. Editor Dara Burrows for her help.

This book is dedicated to my mom, Albina.

Galina Nemova
February 2022


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