On the Relaxation to Quantum-Statistical Equilibrium of the Wigner-Weisskopf Atom in a One-Dimensional Radiation Field. I. A Study of Spontaneous Emission

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Abstract
A theoretical study of the phenomenon of spontaneous emission has been carried out, using as a model the Wigner-Weisskopf atom in a one-dimensional radiation field. The calculation is performed within the framework of the Prigogine theory of nonequilibrium statistical mechanics. When the model is solved exactly to first order in the coupling parameter α and the evolution in time of the diagonal elements of the density matrix ρ is studied, it is found that the relaxation to equilibrium is characterized in part by a sequence of slowly damped oscillations. This result seems to be in agreement with the observation made by Zwanzig, namely, that exponential decay in time seems not to be universal, and may, in fact, be hidden behind some other kind of time dependence. An approximate theory is developed alongside the exact one, and corresponding terms in each treatment are compared numerically. It is found that, for small values of the coupling parameter α (α ≤ 0.1) and for sufficiently large values of τ, defined as τ = αEt where E is frequency and t is time, the approximate theory gives a satisfactory representation of the exact solution to first order in α. The importance and relevance of the model introduced by Van Hove and coworkers, in which nonexponential behavior was also observed, will be noted but not stressed in this paper, as this relationship will be developed in considerable detail in a subsequent contribution. Finally, the possible relevance of the theory to a problem of interest in magnetic resonance is mentioned.