We consider the radiative properties of a system of two identical correlated
atoms interacting with the electromagnetic field in its vacuum state in the
presence of a generic dielectric environment. We suppose that the two emitters
are prepared in a symmetric or antisymmetric superposition of one ground state
and one excited state and we evaluate the transition rate to the collective
ground state, showing distinctive cooperative radiative features. Using a
macroscopic quantum electrodynamics approach to describe the electromagnetic
field, we first obtain an analytical expression for the decay rate of the two
entangled two-level atoms in terms of the Green's tensor of the generic
external environment. We then investigate the emission process when both atoms
are in free space and subsequently when a perfectly reflecting mirror is
present, showing how the boundary affects the physical features of the
superradiant and subradiant emission by the two coupled emitters. The
possibility to control and tailor radiative processes is also discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figure
