  Radiative properties of collective electronic states in a one dimensional
atomic chain are investigated. Radiative corrections are included with
emphasize put on the effect of the chain size through the dependence on both
the number of atoms and the lattice constant. The damping rates of collective
states are calculated in considering radiative effects for different values of
the lattice constant relative to the atomic transition wave length. Especially
the symmetric state damping rate as a function of the number of the atoms is
derived. The emission pattern off a finite linear chain is also presented. The
results can be adopted for any chain of active material, e.g., a chain of
semiconductor quantum dots or organic molecules on a linear matrix.
