Essential Quantum Optics From Quantum Measurements to Black Holes

Covering some of the most exciting trends in quantum optics - quantum entanglement, teleportation, and levitation - this textbook is ideal for advanced undergraduate and graduate students. The book journeys through the vast field of quantum optics following a single theme: light in media. A wide range of subjects are covered, from the force of the quantum vacuum to astrophysics, from quantum measurements to black holes. Ideas are explained in detail and formulated so that students with little prior knowledge of the subject can follow them. Each chapter ends with several short questions followed by a more detailed homework problem, designed to test the reader and show how the ideas discussed can be applied. Solutions to homework problems are available at www.cambridge.org/9780521869782.

1. Introduction; 2. Quantum field theory of light; 3. Simple quantum states of light; 4. Quasiprobability distributions; 5. Simple optical instruments; 6. Irreversible processes; 7. Entanglement; 8. Horizons; Appendixes; References; Index.

Ulf Leonhardt is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of St. Andrews. His research interests include quantum electrodynamics in media and state reconstruction in quantum mechanics. He is one of the inventors of invisibility devices and artificial black holes.