Position-dependent oscillated decay of a two-level atom immersed in a two-dimensional photon fluid

A Weisskopf-Wigner theory has been used to investigate the spontaneous emission of a two-level atom placed in a photon superfluid. It is found that the atom decays exponentially. However, the atomic decay rate changes periodically with the position of the atom and it is minimal when the atom is located at the wave nodes. The largest decay rate of the atom in photon superfluid has the same order of magnitude as it is in vacuum of free space. Moreover, the analytical result shows that the decay of an atom in photon superfluid, compared with that in planar cavity without photon superfluid, will be inhibited. The physical origin of atomic decay inhibition is also discussed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.