Introductory Quantum Optics

by C.C. Gerry, Peter Knight

This elementary introduction to the subject of quantum optics, the study of the quantum mechanical nature of light and its interaction with matter, is almost entirely concerned with the quantized electromagnetic field. The text is designed for upper-level undergraduates taking courses in quantum optics who have already taken a course in quantum mechanics, and for first- and second- year graduate students.

Genres: Physics

332 pages, Paperback

First published October 28, 2004

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recently picked this book up again to refresh my memory on quantum optics. I skimmed through most of the chapters and remembered that this wasn't a very good textbook (I used it during a graduate course previously).

Many topics are not explained well, if at all. In particular, there was a lack of detail in chapter 4 on the emission and absorption of radiation by atoms. It lacked details and was pretty much a mess when discussing the Jaynes-Cummings Hamiltonian. The explanations get much worse in chapter 8 on the dissipative models and decoherence. What was supposed to be a description of systems using Master equations turned out to be a 5 page discussion on the quantum jump and its philosophical implications, while the rest being something non-coherent (no pun intended).

The other chapters are all right, with the experimental chapter well done. If you want a mediocre introduction into the quantum optics, but are more mathematically mature than what's given in Fox's Quantum Optics, then this is a good place to start. Otherwise I would suggest Loudon's Quantum Theory of Light or Grynberg's Introduction to Quantum Optics: From the Semi-classical Approach to Quantized Light.