Quantum Optics

Quantum optics, i.e. the interaction of individual photons with matter, began with the discoveries of Planck and Einstein, but in recent years it has expanded beyond pure physics to become an important driving force for technological innovation. This book serves the broader readership growingout of this development by starting with an elementary description of the underlying physics and then building up a more advanced treatment. The reader is led from the quantum theory of the simple harmonic oscillator to the application of entangled states to quantum information processing. An equally important feature of the text is a strong emphasis on experimental methods. Primary photon detection, heterodyne and homodyne techniques, spontaneous down-conversion, and quantum tomography are discussed, together with important experiments. These experimental and theoreticalconsiderations come together in the chapters describing quantum cryptography, quantum communications, and quantum computing.

John Garrison
Visiting Scholar, University of California at Berkeley

EXPERIENCE
Senior scientist, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (1961-1996)
Lecturer Univ. of California Davis/Livermore and Univ. of California Berkeley (various dates).
Visiting staff scientist Max Planck Institute fur Quantenoptik, Garching (1984-1985)
Raymond Chiao
Professor in the School of Natural Sciences and in the School of Engineering, University of California

EXPERIENCE
1/06 - present Professor of Natural Sciences and of Engineering, UC Merced
7/77 - 12/05 Professor, Department of Physics, UC Berkeley
7/70 - 6/77 Associate Professor, Department of Physics, UC Berkeley
6/67 - 6/70 Assistant Professor, Department of Physics, UC Berkeley
7/65 - 6/67 Assistant Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology