Superradiance

In physics, superradiance is the radiation enhancement effects in several contexts including quantum mechanics, astrophysics and relativity. For want of a better term, a gas which is radiating strongly because of coherence will be called 'super-radiant'. In quantum optics, superradiance is a phenomenon that occurs when a group of N emitters, such as excited atoms, interact with a common light field. If the wavelength of the light is much greater than the separation of the emitters, then the emitters interact with the light in a collective and coherent fashion. This causes the group to emit light as a high intensity pulse (with rate proportional to N2). This is a surprising result, drastically different from the expected exponential decay (with rate proportional to N) of a group of independent atoms (see spontaneous emission). Superradiance has since been demonstrated in a wide variety of physical and chemical systems, such as quantum dot arrays and J-aggregates. This effect has been used to produce a superradiant laser. Rotational superradiance is associated with the acceleration or motion of a nearby body (which supplies the energy and momentum for the effect). It is also sometimes described as the consequence of an "effective" field differential around the body (e.g. the effect of tidal forces). This allows a body with a concentration of angular or linear momentum to move towards a lower energy state, even when there is no obvious classical mechanism for this to happen. In this sense, the effect has some similarities with quantum tunnelling (e.g. the tendency of waves and particles to "find a way" to exploit the existence of an energy potential, despite the absence of an obvious classical mechanism for this to happen). In classical physics, the motion or rotation of a body in a particulate medium will normally be expected to result in momentum and energy being transferred to the surrounding particles, and there is then an increased statistical likelihood of particles being discovered following trajectories that imply removal of momentum from the body.