Beats and the role of near-field interaction in the spontaneous emission from three identical atoms
Tim Richter · Journal of Physics B Atomic Molecular and Optical Physics · 1990
The cooperative spontaneous emission from three identical, initially excited two-level atoms separated by distances much smaller than the resonance wavelength is studied taking into account the dipole-dipole near-field interaction. Approximate expressions are obtained for the time evolution of the atomic system, the radiated intensity and the one-time intensity correlation function. As a new result the authors find that the near-field interaction may lead to the occurrence of beats in the intensity. Moreover, the destructive effect of the near-field interaction on the coherence properties of the emitted radiation is discussed.