Statistical properties of spontaneous emission near a rough surface
  We study the lifetime of the excited state of an atom or molecule near a plane surface with a given random surface roughness. In particular, we discuss the impact of the scattering of surface modes within the rough surface. Our study is completed by considering the lateral correlation length of the decay rate and the variance discussing its relation to the C0 correlation. 
Svend-Age Biehs and Jean-Jacques Greffet
cond-mat.mes-hall quant-ph