Abstract

Recently there has been much interest in the quantum theory of multiwave mixing in atomic media, partly due to the promise of generating squeezed states of light using four-wave mixing (FWM) schemes, which need a quantized electro-magnetic-field theory to assess the effect of propagation loss and spontaneous emission on squeezing. In fact, squeezed states have recently been observed in an intracavity nondegenerate backward FWM experiment in an atomic beam of sodium.¹

© 1986 Optical Society of America