2008/05/31 by Michael E. Crenshaw · 5 citations
Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #Mechanical and Optical Resonators #Photonic and Optical Devices #Quantum Electrodynamics and Casimir Effect #quant-ph
paper · pdf · doi:10.1103/physreva.78.053827
published as Physical Review A 78, 053827 (2008) · Published version with rewritten abstract and introduction
openalex publication_date 2008/11/26 · arxiv created 2009/02/11 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
The macroscopic quantum theory of the electromagnetic field in a dielectric medium interacting with a dense collection of embedded two-level atoms fails to reproduce a result that is obtained from an application of the classical Lorentz local-field condition. Specifically, macroscopic quantum electrodynamics predicts that the Lorentz redshift of the resonance frequency of the atoms will be enhanced by a factor of the refractive index n of the host medium. However, an enhancement factor of (n2+2)∕3 is derived using the Bloembergen procedure in which the classical Lorentz local-field condition is applied to the optical Bloch equations. Both derivations are short and uncomplicated and are based on well-established physical theories, yet lead to contradictory results. Microscopic quantum electrodynamics confirms the classical local-field-based results. Then the application of macroscopic quantum electrodynamic theory to embedded atoms is proved false by a specific example in which both the correspondence principle and microscopic theory of quantum electrodynamics are violated.