Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.27475 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866914429838295040 |
|---|---|
| author | Agarwal, Ishita Kundu, Ankit Lange, Christian M. Hood, Jonathan D. |
| author_facet | Agarwal, Ishita Kundu, Ankit Lange, Christian M. Hood, Jonathan D. |
| contents | Standard macroscopic QED is built on the second-order Green's function for the electric field and discards open-system boundary terms. Here we develop a first-order electromagnetic operator approach that retains both $\mathbf{E}$ and $\mathbf{H}$ and keeps those boundary terms, naturally leading to a quantum input-output formalism. We recast Maxwell's equations as an operator equation for the dual field $\mathit{E}$=$[\mathbf{E},\mathbf{H}]^T$, whose first-order Green operator $g$ propagates the electromagnetic state between surfaces. Symmetries of the Maxwell operator under energy and reciprocal inner products yield the propagation formula, Lorentz reciprocity, and a generalized optical theorem, with minimal vector calculus. Quantizing via a Heisenberg-Langevin approach for absorptive, dispersive media yields two independent quantum noise sources: bulk Langevin operators from material absorption and input-output field operators at the boundary. Expressing the interior field in terms of these operators and the Green propagator yields an exact closed commutation relation $[{\mathit{E}},{\mathit{E}}^\dagger]\propto \mathrm{Im}\,g$, consistent with the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. This identity holds even when dielectrics extend to the boundary, as in waveguide input-output problems, and enables quantum input-output descriptions of complex photonic structures where the Green's function is obtained numerically, extending the framework beyond cavities and waveguides. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_27475 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | First order Maxwell operator formalism for macroscopic quantum electrodynamics Agarwal, Ishita Kundu, Ankit Lange, Christian M. Hood, Jonathan D. Quantum Physics Standard macroscopic QED is built on the second-order Green's function for the electric field and discards open-system boundary terms. Here we develop a first-order electromagnetic operator approach that retains both $\mathbf{E}$ and $\mathbf{H}$ and keeps those boundary terms, naturally leading to a quantum input-output formalism. We recast Maxwell's equations as an operator equation for the dual field $\mathit{E}$=$[\mathbf{E},\mathbf{H}]^T$, whose first-order Green operator $g$ propagates the electromagnetic state between surfaces. Symmetries of the Maxwell operator under energy and reciprocal inner products yield the propagation formula, Lorentz reciprocity, and a generalized optical theorem, with minimal vector calculus. Quantizing via a Heisenberg-Langevin approach for absorptive, dispersive media yields two independent quantum noise sources: bulk Langevin operators from material absorption and input-output field operators at the boundary. Expressing the interior field in terms of these operators and the Green propagator yields an exact closed commutation relation $[{\mathit{E}},{\mathit{E}}^\dagger]\propto \mathrm{Im}\,g$, consistent with the fluctuation-dissipation theorem. This identity holds even when dielectrics extend to the boundary, as in waveguide input-output problems, and enables quantum input-output descriptions of complex photonic structures where the Green's function is obtained numerically, extending the framework beyond cavities and waveguides. |
| title | First order Maxwell operator formalism for macroscopic quantum electrodynamics |
| topic | Quantum Physics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.27475 |