An approximate solution is given for the Jaynes-Cummings model with cavity losses, i.e., the problem of a two-level atom interacting with a single mode of the quantized radiation field, in the rotating-wave approximation, when the field is damped by a reservoir at zero temperature. The approximate solution is derived for initial coherent field states with moderately large numbers of photons. It is simpler in form than earlier results derived by other authors and, over the appropriate parameter range, substantially more accurate than some of them, as shown by direct numerical integration of the master equation. In particular, it is found that an earlier treatment of this problem based on a secular approximation is seriously flawed, in that the conditions for its validity are much more restrictive than was previously believed. Among the results derived it is shown that, just as for the lossless case, when the atom is initially prepared in one of the semiclassical eigenstates the evolution is very simple, with the field and the atomic dipole drifting together in phase. For moderate losses this leads, as in the lossless case, to a ‘‘state preparation’’; i.e., to a good approximation, the state of the atom at a specific time can be made independent of its initial state. The effect of losses on the recently discovered ‘‘Schrödinger cat’’ state of the field is also analyzed. It is found that, although the dissipation destroys the coherence of the macroscopic superposition very rapidly, preparation and observation of the ‘‘cat’’ should be possible with the cavity quality factors reported in recent micromaser experiments.

• Received 1 September 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.47.2221