ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the novel aspects of cavity QED that are not only relevant to traditional quantum optics (lasers and masers, coherence theory, non-classical fields, etc.), but simultaneously make contact with nonlinear dynamics and chaos. A micromaser consisting of a single-mode cavity in which two-level atoms are injected at such a low rate that at most one atom at a time is present inside the cavity. In recent work, a complete quantum theory of the micromaser, including resonator losses, is presented. A detailed study of the dynamics of the quantum-mechanical micromaser is called for, and it will hopefully contribute to a better understanding of quantum chaos in dissipative quantum mechanical systems. A semi-classical version of the micromaser is generally chaotic and exhibits a number of coexisting basins of attraction. The micromaser is a truly quantum-mechanical system which is within reach of experimental investigations.
