Past exam of the laser science and quantum information processing course of the University of Oxford / 2015 / 2 / d / Solution

The annihilation operator eigenvalue property givesThis is a classical monochromatic electric field: the modulus of $\alpha$ fixes the wave amplitude, while its argument fixes the wave phase relative to the chosen mode convention. Direct normal ordering also gives $(\Delta E{)}_{\alpha }^2=|\mathcal{E}{|}^2$, independent of $\alpha$. Hence the fluctuation divided by the peak mean-field amplitude is $1/(2|\alpha |)$, small in the bright coherent state limit. A relative fluctuation evaluated exactly at a field zero is not a useful classicality test.