Theory of Collision Effects on Line Shapes Using a Quantum-Mechanical Description of the Atomic Center-of-Mass Motion - Application to Lasers. I

We present a theory of pressure effects in which the atomic center-of-mass motion is treated quantum mechanically. The quantum-mechanical calculation treats the perturber-induced energy level variations and the velocity changes of the emitter caused by collisions on an equal basis. Specifically, we shall treat the problem of a laser to first order in the laser field, allowing for the fact that the laser atoms are undergoing collisions, but our results will also be applicable to the cases of stimulated emission or absorption. It will be sufficient to carry out a perturbation solution of the problem assuming that the laser atoms undergo at most one collision in their lifetime, since such a restricted calculation reveals the salient features of the theory. We shall find that, in general, there is no classical limit for our results. Thus, previous treatments employing a classical Boltzmann-equation approach for the atomic center-of-mass motion are invalid, and a quantum-mechanical description is necessary to correctly treat cases where both the modified Doppler effect (modified by collisions) and perturber-induced energy-level variations are present.