Correlated spontaneous emission on the Volga

In a recent paper [1] the emission of radiation from an ensemble of N atoms excited by a single photon was studied. That paper stimulated spirited discussions and debate. For example, it was argued at the 2006 Volga River conference on quantum control that the important conclusion that follows from the nuclear physics gamma-ray studies of this problem was the prediction of the suppression of the resonance level width. In this connection, the results of [1] were argued to be incorrect since no line narrowing was reported. In the present paper, it is shown that there is no radiative suppression associated with the Dicke state given in [1]. However, the interplay between quantum optics (Dicke super and subradiant states) and nuclear physics (forward scattering of gamma radiation) provides interesting problems and insights. The present paper is derived from the authors' lectures and discussions on the subject and is intended to be pedagogical.