SPONTANEOUS EMISSION IN COAXIAL CYLINDRICAL CAVITIES

The conditions for enhancement and inhibition of the spontaneous emiss ion rate per second by an atom inside coaxial cavities are investigate d in the electric-dipole approximation. A complete set of vector mode functions satisfying the boundary conditions is obtained utilizing fie ld decomposition, which is needed to quantize the electromagnetic held . The behavior of the emission rate is generally quite complicated; th ere are sharp peaks at many resonance points, and the minimal values a pproach unity as the radius of the cavities increases. Emission is usu ally inhibited completely if the radius is very small. However, under certain conditions, one being a small radius, there is the possibility of very large emission due to the TEM mode.