Related papers: The Pauli-Lubanski Vector, Complex Electrodynamics…
A direct calculation of the elements of the photon polarization vector for arbitrary momentum in the helicity basis shows that it is not a vector but a complex bivector. The bivector real and imaginary parts can be directly equated with…
If Einstein's photon is $E = cp = \hbar\omega$, Wigner's photon is its helicity which is a Lorentz-invariant concept coming from the E(2)-like little group for massless particles. In addition, the E(2)-like little group has two…
We compare several definitions of photon helicity (magnetic, electric, electromagnetic) present in literature. In curved spacetime quantum anomalies can spoil helicity conservation inducing, according to these definitions, different effects…
The photon wave equation proposed in terms of the Riemann-Silberstein vector is derived from a first-order Dirac/Weyl-type action principle. It is symmetric w.r.t. duality transformations, but the associated Noether quantity vanishes.…
The massive electrodynamics is applied to the Dirac equation to find the generalized Volkov solution with massive photon field. The resulting equation is the Riccati equation which cannot be solved in general. We use the approximative…
We consider a modification of electrodynamics in which right- and left-circularly polarized photons are coupled to charged sources differently. Even though photon helicity is a Lorentz invariant quantity, such a modification breaks Lorentz…
I introduce a spinor field theory for the photon. The three-dimensional vector electromagnetic field and the four-dimensional vector potential are components of this spinor photon field. A spinor equation for the photon field is derived…
The average helicity of a given electromagnetic field measures the difference between the number of left- and right-handed photons contained in the field. In here, the average helicity is derived using the conformally-invariant…
We analyze basic relativistic wave equations for the classical fields, such as Dirac's equation, Weyl's two-component equation for massless neutrinos, and the Proca, Maxwell, and Fierz-Pauli equations, from the viewpoint of the…
Classical model of light in helicity formalism is presented. Then quantum point of view at photons -- construction and interpretation of photon wave function is proposed. Quantum mechanics of photon is investigated. The Bia\l ynicki --…
The coherence properties of the classical waves are discussed in terms of the Cauchy problem for the wave equation, and of a discrete representation by an ensemble of Hamiltonian systems. Wave quanta are related to specific "action fields",…
In terms of a photon wave function corresponding to the (1, 0)+(0, 1) representation of the Lorentz group, the radiation and Coulomb fields within a source-free region can be described unitedly by a Lorentz-covariant Dirac-like equation. In…
A reexamination of the semiclassical approach of the relativistic electron indicates a possible variation of its helicity for electric and magnetic static fields applied along its global motion due to zitterbewegung effects, proportional to…
We second quantize the Fermi Lagrangian in the Lorenz gauge to obtain a covariant theory of photon quantum mechanics. Number density is real so it is interpreted as position probability density. The Hilbert space is the vector space of…
Einstein-Maxwell theory implies the mixing of photons with gravitons in an external electromagnetic field. This process and its possible observable consequences have been studied at tree level for many years. We use the worldline formalism…
We identify momentum/helicity probability amplitudes for the photon and find their relativistic transformation properties. We also find their behaviour under space inversion and time reversal. The discussion begins with a review of the…
We investigate the Pleba\'nski class of electrodynamical theories, i.e., theories of nonlinear vacuum electrodynamics that derive from a Lorentz-invariant Lagrangian (or Hamiltonian). In any such theory the light rays are the lightlike…
Classically, electromagnetic pulses are described by real fields that couple to charged matter and propagate causally. We will show here that real fields of the form used in standard classical electromagnetic theory have a quantum…
We construct an explicit covariant Majorana formulation of Maxwell electromagnetism which does not make use of vector 4-potential. This allows to write a ``Dirac'' equation for the photon containing all the known properties of it. In…
A wavefunction for single- and many-photon states is defined by associating photons with different momenta to different spectral and polarization components of the classical, generally complex, electromagnetic field that propagates in a…