Pairing Superbunching With Compounded Nonlinearity In A Resonant Transition

Through a quantitative analysis of an atomic transition driven strongly by quantized electromagnetic fields of various quantum states, we explore the role of quantum fluctuations on the behavior of the system. The emphasis is on fields with super-Poissonian statistics manifested in photon bunching, with the case of squeezed vacuum radiation serving as a prototype of superbunching. When combined with nonlinear coupling of the resonant states, bunching and superbunching lead to counterintuitive behavior. The connection to recent progress in squeezed vacuum sources and the opportunity for experimental investigation, as well as challenging open theoretical problems, are also outlined. In yet another context, the possibility of exploring related effects in strongly driven Auger resonances by FEL radiation is discussed.