Quantum optics

Japanese: 量子光学 - りょうしこうがく（英語表記）quantum optics

A field of study that discusses the generation mechanism and properties of electromagnetic waves, as well as the interaction between electromagnetic waves and matter from a quantum mechanical perspective. The field known as quantum electronics was developed around the maser invented in 1954, and research was focused on the generation and amplification of microwaves and their interaction with matter. However, since the invention of the laser in 1960, the focus of the field has shifted to the optical domain, and the content has expanded, leading to the name quantum optics. When materials interact with coherent, intense light such as laser light, they exhibit various new phenomena. These include saturation phenomena in which spectral lines broaden, coherent transient phenomena such as optical echoes, focusing effects of light, superradiance, harmonic generation of light, and optical parametric effects. The research is called laser spectroscopy and nonlinear optics, and focuses on new properties of matter and their applications. New properties of light that could only be understood through quantum optics have been discovered, such as the squeezed and antibunched states of light.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

電磁波の発生機構やその性質，あるいは電磁波と物質の相互作用を量子力学的に論じる学問。量子エレクトロニクスと呼ばれる学問が 1954年に発明されたメーザーを中心に展開され，マイクロ波の発生や増幅，物質との相互作用を研究していたが，60年のレーザーの発明以来，学問の中心が光領域に移り，その内容も広がったため量子光学の名が使われるようになった。レーザー光のようにコヒーレントで強い光と相互作用すると物質はさまざまな新しい現象を示す。スペクトル線が広がる飽和現象，光エコーなどのコヒーレント過渡現象，光の集束効果，超放射，光の高調波発生，光パラメトリック効果などがそれで，その研究はレーザー分光学，非線形光学と呼ばれ，物質の新しい性質やその利用を研究対象としている。光のスクイーズド状態，アンチバンチング状態など量子光学でなければ理解できない新しい光の性質も発見されている。

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