The Maxwell wave function of the photon
Quantum Physics
2007-05-23 v1
Abstract
James Clerk Maxwell unknowingly discovered a correct relativistic, quantum theory for the light quantum, forty-three years before Einstein postulated the photon's existence. In this theory, the usual Maxwell field is the quantum wave function for a single photon. When the non-operator Maxwell field of a single photon is second quantized, the standard Dirac theory of quantum optics is obtained. Recently, quantum-state tomography has been applied to experimentally determine photon wave functions.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.quant-ph/0604169,
title = {The Maxwell wave function of the photon},
author = {M. G. Raymer and Brian J. Smith},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:quant-ph/0604169},
year = {2007}
}
Comments
SPIE conference Optics and Photonics, Conference number 5866, The Nature of Light: What is a Photon?" (San Diego, Aug. 2005)