1 research outputs found
Quantum Electrodynamics near a Huttner-Barnett dielectric
We build up a consistent theory of quantum electrodynamics in the presence of
macroscopic polarizable media. We use the Huttner-Barnett model of a dispersive
and absorbing dielectric medium and formulate the theory in terms of
interacting quantum fields. We integrate out the damped polaritons by using
diagrammatic techniques and find an exact expression for the displacement field
(photon) propagator in the presence of a dispersive and absorbing dielectric
half-space. This opens a new route to traceable perturbative calculations of
the same kind as in free-space quantum electrodynamics. As a worked-through
example we consider the interaction of a neutral atom with a dispersive and
absorbing dielectric half-space. For that we use the multipolar coupling
of the atomic dipole moment to the
electromagnetic displacement field. We apply the newly developed formalism to
calculate the one-loop correction to the atomic electron propagator and find
the energy-level shift and changes in the spontaneous decay rates for a neutral
atom close to an absorptive dielectric mirror.Comment: 25 pages, 4 figure