  A phenomenological approach is developed that allows one to completely
describe the effects of unwanted noise, such as the noise associated with
absorption and scattering, in high-Q cavities. This noise is modeled by a block
of beam splitters and an additional input-output port. The replacement schemes
enable us to formulate appropriate quantum Langevin equations and input-output
relations. It is demonstrated that unwanted noise renders it possible to
combine a cavity input mode and the intracavity mode in a nonmonochromatic
output mode. Possible applications to unbalanced and cascaded homodyning of the
intracavity mode are discussed and the advantages of the latter method are
shown.
