Realistic model for radiation-matter interaction

Abstract

This paper presents a realistic model that describes radiation-matter interactions. This is achieved by a generalization of first quantization, where the Maxwell equations are interpreted as the electromagnetic component of the Schroedinger equation. This picture is complemented by the consideration of electrons and photons as real particles in three-dimensional space, following guiding conditions derived from the particle-wave-functions to which they are associated. The guiding condition for the electron is taken from Bohmian mechanics, while the photon velocity is defined as the ratio between the Poynting vector and the electromagnetic energy density. The case of many particles is considered, taking into account their statistical properties. The formalism is applied to a two level system, providing a satisfactory description for spontaneous emission, Lamb shift, scattering, absorption, dispersion, resonance fluorescence and vacuum fields. This model adequately describes quantum jumps by the entanglement between the photon and the atomic system and it will prove to be very useful in the simulation of quantum devices for quantum computers and quantum information systems. A possible relativistic generalization is presented, together with its relationship to QED.