RF resonant beam polarimetry: Analysis using quantized operators

The concept of so-called 'rf resonant beam polarimetry' has been proposed as a potentially fast, accurate and nondestructive technique for measuring the spin polarization of stored polarized beams. The published analyses have employed a semiclassical treatment for the cavity rf fields and also the particle spin. We revisit the problem, using quantized operators for the cavity rf field, and also treat the particle spin as a quantum operator. With suitable approximations, the quantum model can be solved exactly, yielding so-called 'vacuum Rabi oscillations.' Using our solution of the quantum model, we are able to offer more precise quantitative estimates for the energy and number of photons emitted into the cavity per unit time. Our treatment employing quantized operators yields significantly different conclusions from the semiclassical analysis.