Abstract

It has been known since 1946 from the work of Purcell¹ that nonfreespace boundary conditions on the electromagnetic field can affect the spontaneous emission rates of atoms. Although this effect is often calculated in the context of QED,^2-5 it has been argued by Morawitz and others^6,7 that the effect is primarily classical In essence, the boundaries alter the electromagnetic-mode density, and that is an entirely classical concept.

© 1992 Optical Society of America