Superradiance from a Relativistic Source

TL;DR

This paper develops a relativistic model of superradiant emission from multi-particle sources, revealing how relativistic effects modify emission characteristics and coherence requirements.

Contribution

It introduces a Hamiltonian-based framework for relativistic multi-particle superradiance and adapts diagrammatic methods to analyze velocity-dependent effects.

Findings

Relativistic Lorentz factor modifies the vertical photon emission result.

Derived coupled differential equations for velocity-dependent propagators.

Higher relativistic velocities impose stricter coherence conditions for superradiance.

Abstract

We construct a model of cooperative superradiant emission from a highly relativistic multi-particle source. We revise an existing model of the literature for a relativistic two-level particle, and construct from it a Hamiltonian describing relativistic velocity dependent multi-particle superradiance. We adapt the standard diagrammatic framework to compute time evolution and density operators from our Hamiltonian, and demonstrate during the process a departure from standard results and calculation methods. In particular, we demonstrate that the so-called vertical photon result of the literature is modified by the relativistic Lorentz factor of the sample; we also introduce a set of coupled differential equations describing certain propagators in the velocity-dependent small sample framework, which we solve numerically via a hybrid fourth order Runge-Kutta and convolution approach. We demonstrate our methods for the simple case of two highly relativistic particles travelling with slightly differing velocities simulated at varying relativistic mean sample $\beta$ factors, and evaluate velocity coherence requirements for a sample to demonstrate enhanced superradiant emission in the observer frame. We find these coherence requirements to become increasingly restrictive at higher $\beta$ factors, even in the context of standard results of relativistic velocity differential transformations.