Abstract
The lifetime of an excited atom near an absorbing dielectric surface is calculated from an exact solution of a microscopic Hamiltonian model, which includes the effects of dispersion, local-field correction, and near-field Coulomb interaction. Results for the total decay rate are shown to be in excellent agreement with those based on classical electromagnetic theory and to yield the well-known result for the rate of nonradiative energy transfer in the limit of very small distance from the surface. © 1996 The American Physical Society.
- Received 1 July 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.54.5227
©1996 American Physical Society