Course description
This course starts with an introduction to quantum optics. After a review of coherence in classical optics, experimental results contradicting the classical theory of light are presented. The concept of photon is then introduced by the quantization of the electromagnetic field. Several quantum states of light are derived and the classical coherence theory is extended to quantum light. Quantum distribution functions are introduced to describe partially coherent states of light. The theory of photodetection is derived and the photon statistics for several states of light are computed. After a short review of the semiclassical theory of the interaction of electromagnetic fields with atoms, the interaction of the quantized field with a two levels atomic system is described. Spontaneous emission can only be explained within that full quantized theory. The theory is extended to three level systems with a basic theory of the laser. Finally the realisation of quantum states of light through non-linear optical processes is explained. We will conclude by showing the application of such states for tests of non-locality, for quantum metrology and for quantum information processing.
