A derivation of optical field quantization from absorber theory
Alan V. Durrant, George William Series · Proceedings of the Royal Society of London A Mathematical and Physical Sciences · 1980
Abstract A quantum absorber theory of optical field quantization is developed, in which only matter is quantized by postulate. The amplitudes of the optical field in an absorbing universe are expressed, by using Maxwell’s source equations, in terms of the atomic source operators of the surrounding absorber atoms treated as a single quantum system. Stationary twolevel absorbing atoms are assumed and only electric dipole fields are considered. The resulting optical field is found to be quantized with a mathematical description identical to that of the conventionally quantized optical field, but the physical interpretation is different.