Fluctuation of Polarized Light in Cooperative Spontaneous Emission

Abstract

Macroscopic fluctuation of superradiance most sensitively appears as the fluctuation of the polarized photon number. This fluctuation is not much affected by unexpected variation of the exciting pulse area. In the superradiance limit the relative fluctuation of the polarized photon number is equal to \sqrt1⁄3, and it decreases rapidly as the atomic number density is reduced below a threshold density. Such a characteristic change is attributed to a transition from the superradiant emission to the amplified spontaneous emission.