Limitations on the photon storage lifetime in electromagnetic resonances of highly transparent microdroplets

Thermal fluctuations lead to nonspherical distortions of liquid microdroplets with typical amplitude Δ∼0.1 nm. The 2l+1 modes of a multiplet are then split in frequency by a fractional amount of order Δ/a∼${10}^{\mathrm{-}5}$, where a is the droplet radius. The width of the multiplet in the frequency domain implies a proportionate reduction in the photon storage lifetime and can limit the effective Q value defined by the photon lifetime to ${\mathit{Q}}_0$∼(a/Δɛ)∼(${10}^5$/ɛ), where ɛ (0<ɛ<1) is process dependent and expresses the fraction of the modes of the multiplet effectively coupled in the process. The theory behind this scenario is presented.