QUANTUM EFFECTS OF SPATIAL TEMPORAL MODULATION OF THE OPTICAL-FIELD/

The quantum effects of temporal modulation and spatial confinement of optical field are theoretically analyzed using the continuous mode for malism. The effect of modulation is different from static attenuation regardless of whether the modulation bandwidth is broader or narrower than the photon bandwidth. This effect appears not only in single-phot on interferometry but also in multi-photon interferometry, and shows t he fundamental difference between deep modulation and static attenuati on of the wave function. The effect of spatial confinement of photons in a cavity appears as an anomalous mode commutator inside the cavity, which is related to the spontaneous emission modulation, The canonica l field commutator is guaranteed only when the Kramers-Kronig relation s for the optical elements are properly incorporated. (C) 1997 Elsevie r Science S.A.