Abstract

We formulate a continuous-mode quantization scheme for the electromagnetic field in one dimension.^[1] The scheme is well-suited to the treatment of travelling-wave optical excitations in experiments that have no identifiable cavity, but in which the optical energy flows from sources to detectors with no significant reflection or recycling. In the continuous-mode theory, the level of excitation is best described by the photon flux, and the various field expectation values are best determined in terms of the quantities that can be measured in optical detection. We consider particularly the theories of direct and balanced homodyne detection, and the information they can provide on nonclassical properties of the optical fields.

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