Jaynes-Cummings interaction with a traveling light pulse

Abstract

The Jaynes-Cummings model provides a simple and accurate description of the interaction between a two-level quantum emitter and a single mode of quantum radiation. Due to the multimode continuum of eigenmodes in free space and in waveguides, the Jaynes-Cummings model should not be expected to properly describe the interaction between an emitter and a traveling pulse of quantum radiation. In this article, we review a cascaded quantum system approach that accurately describes the interaction of a quantum system with an incident quantum pulse of radiation. This approach leads to different formulations of the theory, each of a similar structure as the Jaynes-Cummings model but with important modifications.