Nonlinear evolution of the Landau-Lifshitz type can be exactly linearized. Special cases include the radiation-damped spin system and the superradiant system in the semiclassical regime, in the presence of time-varying driving fields. For these, the resultant linear system is simply that of a spin $\frac{1}{2}$ particle, with the radiation damping rate, or superradiant characteristic time, manifested as an imaginary addition to the spin's resonance frequency. Consequently, methods from inverse scattering theory can be used to design driving fields. The behavior of these systems under stochastic excitation can be determined exactly.

• Received 19 July 1999

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.84.1685