Thomas Shafer

University Honors with Honors in Physics

Majors: Physics and Mathematics

Supervisor: Moorad Alexanian, Physics & Physical Oceanography

Collapse and Revival in the Jaynes-Cummings-Paul Model

The Jaynes-Cummings-Paul model is the simplest solvable model of two interacting quantum systems, viz. a two-level quantum system and a quantized electromagnetic field. It is also the only exactly solvable model in the field of quantum optics. In the presence of the electromagnetic field, typically a monochromatic laser, the system does not decay normally. Rather, its quantum-mechanical wave function collapses and subsequently revives. This collapse and revival of the wave function is a purely quantum effect which cannot be explained in classical terms, making the Jaynes-Cummings-Paul model a useful theoretical tool for the study of quantum dynamics.