Recoil and momentum diffusion of an atom close to a vacuum-dielectric interface

Details Recoil and momentum diffusion of an atom close to a vacuum-dielectric interface Recoil and momentum diffusion of an atom close to a vacuum-dielectric interface

1998-04-09

arxiv.org/abs/quant-ph/9804022v1

Eur.Phys.J. D3 (1998) 129-153

Physics

Quantum Physics

submitted to European Physical Journal D (26 pages, 8 figures, uses epsf.sty)

Scientific paper

10.1007/s100530050157

We derive the quantum-mechanical master equation (generalized optical Bloch equation) for an atom in the vicinity of a flat dielectric surface. This equation gives access to the semiclassical radiation pressure force and the atomic momentum diffusion tensor, that are expressed in terms of the vacuum field correlation function (electromagnetic field susceptibility). It is demonstrated that the atomic center-of-mass motion provides a nonlocal probe of the electromagnetic vacuum fluctuations. We show in particular that in a circularly polarized evanescent wave, the radiation pressure force experienced by the atoms is not colinear with the evanescent wave's propagation vector. In a linearly polarized evanescent wave, the recoil per fluorescence cycle leads to a net magnetization for a Jg = 1/2 ground state atom.

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