Fermi's golden rule does not adequately describe Dicke's superradiance
Conference Paper
Overview
Identity
Additional Document Info
Other
View All
Overview
abstract
We consider the application of Fermi's golden rule to the problem of N atoms, one of which is excited, in an extended medium with dimensions that are large compared with the wavelength. We find that, in contrast to an often-voiced opinion, the golden rule does not describe the physics of one photon absorbed and subsequently emitted by N atoms. The correct treatment includes many-body effects such as Fano interference. For a finite atomic cloud with size R, in the Markovian limit, the system will decay exponentially at a rate of around N(2/R2) faster than the single-atom decay rate.