Cavity Quantum Electrodynamics in the Ultrastrong Coupling Regime

Abstract: We revisit the mathematical formulation of the famous Jaynes-Cummings-Paul Hamiltonian, which describes the interaction of a two-level atom with a single mode of an electromagnetic cavity reservoir. We rigorously show that under the condition of Ultrastrong coupling between the atom and cavity, in which the transition frequency is comparable to the coupling frequency, the bosonic field operators undergo non-sinusoidal time variations. As a result, the well-known solutions to the Jaynes-Cummings-Paul model are no longer valid, even when the rotating wave approximation is not used. We show how a correct mathematical solution could be found instead.