This educational work presents a new approach towards resonant interaction between classical light and matter. The interaction between light and matter is considered from three different points of view: the light picture (where the material degrees of freedom have been integrated out, and leaving one with scattering theory), the matter picture (where the radiative degrees of freedom have been eliminated and providing one essentially with atomic physics). In addition the polariton approach is discussed, in which the degrees of freedom of light and matter are treated on the same footing. Although the first approach will by far be given most of the attention, we will frequently emphasize the equivalence of the three methods. Much of the presented material is selfcontained.

We demonstrate that in the dynamical properties of multiple scattering of light the “matter” properties play a dominant role. Several “paradigms of atomic physics” will be discussed from the view point of light scattering theory. We shall introduce the far-reaching analogy between the dielectric “Mie” sphere in classical optics, and the two-level atom in semi-classical atomic physics. This mapping turns out to be much more faithful than the widely used analogy between scattering theory for De Broglie waves and classical waves. In scattering theory the semi-classical two-level atom is equivalent to a point scatterer.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0370157395000658

A. Lagendijk and B. A. van Tiggelen

1996

05/1996

Phys. Rep.

270

143-216

10.1016/0370-1573(95)00065-8

enhanced backscattering, Light scattering, light transport, multiple scattering