Radiation field quantization in a nonlinear dielectric with dispersion and absorption

Abstract

The problem of quantizing the radiation field inside a nonlinear dielectric is studied. Based on the quantization of radiation in a linear dielectric which includes absorption and dispersion, we extend the theory in order to treat also nonlinear optical processes. We derive propagation equations in space and time for the quantized radiation field including the effects of linear absorption and dispersion as well as nonlinear optical effects. As a special case we derive the propagation equation of a narrow-frequency band light pulse in a Kerr medium.