Abstract

Quantum electrodynamic (QED) predictions in molecular Systems close to electromagnetlc bound- aries or in microscopio optical cavities Nave been experimentally tested using various schemes of optical pumping by highly dlrectional lasers. A striklng, rtever predicted, quantum anisotropy effect on spontaneous emission has been detectes) in a novel experiment. This has been attributed to first-order coherence offsets of the electromagnetic 0-point field. These same effects show up in different forms in determining radiative and nonra- diative molecular decaying times and line shifts. Two different experimental schemes have been tested:

© 1986 Optical Society of America