Revisiting the Jaynes-Cummings model with time-dependent coupling

Abstract: The Jaynes-Cummings (JC) model stands as a fully quantized, fundamental framework for exploring light-matter interactions, a timely reflection on a century of quantum theory. The time-dependent Jaynes-Cummings (TDJC) model introduces temporal variations in certain parameters, which often require numerical methods. However, under the resonance condition, exact solutions can be obtained, offering insight into a variety of physical scenarios. In this work, we study the resonant TDJC model considering different modulations of the atom-field coupling. The model is presented and an analytical solution derived in a didactic way, allowing us to examine how time-dependent couplings affect atomic population inversion and atom-field entanglement. We also consider an atom traversing a partially cooled cavity, which induces periodicity and reveals the combined effects of atomic motion and thermal fluctuations. The Bloch vector is used to analyze the dynamics of the system, including the atomic state purity, and reveals phenomena such as atomic dipole alignment with the field due to the oscillating coupling, as well as atomic population trapping, which arises by increasing the initial mean thermal photon number.