Quantum Zeno effect on atomic excitation decay in resonators

A unified theory of two-level atom coupling to vacuum field reservoirs with {ital arbitrary} mode-density spectra is used to demonstrate that the quantum Zeno effect on excitation decay of the atom (and, correspondingly, inhibition of spontaneous emission) is observable in open cavities and waveguides, using a sequence of evolution-interrupting pulses on a nanosecond scale. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}