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In this talk I will briefly review the basic principles of electromagnetic field quantisation in the presence of macroscopic matter, and explain its relevance to the quantum interaction between (isolated) microscopic particles and macroscopic surfaces. As a first example, I will review some aspects of propagation of nonclassical light through absorbing optical devices. I will then concentrate on two aspects of atom-surface interactions --- decoherence and dispersion forces (Casimir, Casimir-Polder and van der Waals forces). Both effects can be understood within the framework of macroscopic QED as spatially dependent relaxation processes and line shift mechanisms, respectively. I will present examples of highly excited atoms and weakly bound molecules that are particularly susceptible to changes in dispersion forces.

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Prof. Stefan Scheel, Universität Rostock
Seminarraum Theoretische Physik
Contact: not specified