Oscillation structures in the spontaneous emission rate of an atom in a medium with refractive index n between mirrors: a solvable model

Abstract

We study the multi-periodic oscillations in the spontaneous emission rate of an atom in a medium with refractive index n sandwiched between two parallel mirrors. The oscillations are not obvious in the analytical formula for the rate derived based on Fermi's golden rule but can be extracted using Fourier transforms by varying the system scale while holding the configuration. The oscillations are interpreted as interferences and correspond to various closed-orbits of the emitted photon going away from and returning to the atom. This system provides a rare example that the oscillations can be explicitly derived by following the emitted wave until it returns to the emitting atom. We demonstrate the summation over a large number of closed-orbits converges to the rate formula of golden rule.