This book presents a comprehensive overview of the spectacular advances seen in atomic physics during the last 50 years. The authors explain how such progress was possible by highlighting connections ...between developments that occurred at different times. They discuss the new perspectives and the new research fields that look promising. The emphasis is placed, not on detailed calculations, but rather on physical ideas. Combining both theoretical and experimental considerations, the book will be of interest to a wide range of students, teachers and researchers in quantum and atomic physics.
We review a few early studies on atom–photon interactions which took place in France after World War II and before the seventies. Several examples are discussed, including double resonance and ...optical pumping, radiofrequency multiphoton processes, quantum interference effects in radiative processes, master equation description of atom–photon interactions, optical resonators and laser media, etc. We try to point out the continuity which exists between these early studies and more recent investigations in new research fields, such as laser cooling and trapping. Some general conclusions about science policy will be finally drawn from such a historical review.
Nous présentons quelques-unes des études initiales relatives aux interactions atome–photons qui ont été réalisées en France après la Seconde Guerre mondiale et avant les années 1970. Nous donnons plusieurs exemples, tels que la double résonance et le pompage optique, les processus multiphotoniques dans le domaine des radiofréquences, les interférences quantiques dans les processus radiatifs, la description en termes d'une équation maîtresse des interactions atome–photon, les résonateurs optiques, les milieux laser, etc. Nous essayons de souligner la continuité qui existe entre ces travaux précoces et les recherches ultérieures menées dans des domaines nouveaux, tels que le refroidissement et le piégeage des atomes par laser. Enfin, quelques considérations générales sur la politique de la recherche scientifique se dégagent de cette revue historique.
This invaluable book presents papers written during the last 40 years by Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and his collaborators on various physical effects which can be observed on atoms interacting with ...electromagnetic fields. It consists of a personal selection of review papers, lectures given at schools, as well as original experimental and theoretical papers. Emphasis is placed on physical mechanisms and on general approaches (such as the dressed atom approach) having a wide range of applications. Various topics are discussed, such as atoms in intense laser fields, photon correlations, quantum jumps, radiative corrections, laser cooling and trapping, Bose–Einstein condensation. In this new edition, about 200-page of new material has been added.
When physicists began to explore the world of atoms more precisely, as they endeavoured to understand its structure and the laws governing its behaviour, they soon encountered serious difficulties. ...Our intuitive concepts, based on our daily experience of the macroscopic world around us, proved to be completely erroneous on the atomic scale; the atom was incomprehensible within the framework of classical physics. In order to uncover these new mysteries, after a great deal of trial and error, entirely new concepts therefore had to be elaborated: the concepts of quantum physics. What are the main stages that have led us to this modern understanding of the atom? What is the present state of atomic physics? How has it contributed to the development of our knowledge and where is it heading?
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