Physical interpretation of operator dynamics in the Jaynes-Cummings model

By means of simple mathematical methods, typical properties of the quantum dynamics in the Jaynes-Cummings model are discussed. The methods used allow a clear physical interpretation in the sense of an ensemble average and permit an investigation of the influence of the initial photon distribution width on collapse and revivals. Results obtained by a more sophisticated treatment provide corrections which are on the order 1/ square root N/sub 0/ for N/sub 0/>>1 where N/sub 0/ is the average photon number. The time evolution of the electric field strength and the photon distribution are also studied.<
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