We introduce quantum optical dipole radiation fields defined in terms of photon creation and
annihilation operators. These fields are identified through their spatial dependence, as the
components of the total fields that survive infinitely far from the dipole source. We use these
radiation fields to perturbatively evaluate the electromagnetic radiated energy-flux of the excited
dipole. Our results indicate that the standard interpretation of a bare atom surrounded by a
localised virtual photon cloud, is difficult to sustain, because the radiated energy-flux surviving
infinitely far from the source contains virtual contributions. It follows that there is a clear
distinction to be made between a radiative photon defined in terms of the radiation fields and a
real photon, whose identification depends on whether or not a given process conserves the free
energy. This free energy is represented by the difference between the total dipole-field Hamiltonian
and its interaction component…