Well-dressed states for wave-packet dynamics in cavity QED

Abstract

The quantization of atomic center-of-mass motion is considered within the context of cavity QED with particular emphasis on the dynamics of localized wave packets. ``Well-dressed'' states are introduced as an eigenbasis that incorporates both the quantized atom-field interaction and the external bound states of a potential well. The interplay of internal and external time scales generates qualitatively new dynamics such as novel ``collapses'' and ``revivals.''