Related papers: Photon position operators and localized bases
We show that the position operator with commuting components proposed by M. Hawton [M. Hawton, Phys. Rev. A {\bf 59}, 954 (1999)] and developed in subsequent papers, including the recent ones, does not have the properties required for a…
The paper provides three main definitions of the Cartesian photon position operator based on: boost generator, the transversality condition and the helicity operator. In each case, the correctness of the definition and Hermitianness of the…
A general form of the photon position operator with commuting components fulfilling some natural axioms is obtained. This operator commutes with the photon helicity operator, is Hermitian with respect to the Bialynicki-Birula scalar product…
We have recently constructed a photon position operator with commuting components. This was long thought to be impossible, but our position eigenvectors have a vortex structure like twisted light. Thus they are not spherically symmetric and…
It seems that the problem of finding a suitable position operator for photon has been solved in a recently published work which is based on a new commutation relation between position and momentum operators of massless particles[1].…
We show that there is only one operator having some minimal properties enabling it to be a one photon position operator. These proerties are stated, and the solution is shown to be the photon position operator proposed by Pryce. This…
It is shown that the photon position operator $\hat{\vec{X}}$ with commuting components can be written in the momentum representation as $\hat{\vec{X}}=i \hat{\vec{D}}$, where $\hat{\vec{D}}$ is a flat connection in the tangent bundle…
Nonlinear action of the group of spatial rotations on commuting components of a position operator of a massless particle of arbitrary helicity is studied. It is shown that linearization of this action necessarily leads to the Pryce operator…
Any polarization vector of a plane wave can be decomposed into a pair of mutually orthogonal base vectors, known as a polarization basis. Regarding this decomposition as a quasi-unitary transformation from a three-component vector to a…
In biorthogonal quantum mechanics, the eigenvectors of a quasi-Hermitian operator and those of its adjoint are biorthogonal and complete and the probability for a transition from a quantum state to any one of these eigenvectors is positive…
It is always stated that the position operator for massless particles has non-comutting components. It is shown that the reason is that the commutation relations between coordinates and momenta differs for massive and massless particles.…
The expressions of the eigenfunctions of the Hawton photon position operator in the configuration space are derived for several classes of wave function, including the Riemann-Silberstein and Landau-Peierls cases. Although these…
We geometrically derive the explicit form of the Unitary representation of the Poincare group and use it to apply speed-of-light boosts to simple polarization basis to end up with Hawton-Baylis photon position operator with commuting…
One and two photon wave functions are derived by projecting the quantum state vector onto simultaneous eigenvectors of the number operator and a recently constructed photon position operator [Phys. Rev A 59, 954 (1999)] that couples spin…
We develop the quantum theory of transverse angular momentum of light beams. The theory applies to paraxial and quasi-paraxial photon beams in vacuum, and reproduces the known results for classical beams when applied to coherent states of…
We present an operator approach to the description of photon polarization, based on Wigner's concept of elementary relativistic systems. The theory of unitary representations of the Poincare group, and of parity, are exploited to construct…
This paper gives a constructive answer to the question whether photon states can contain or not, and to what extent, the readings of rulers and clocks. The paper first shows explicitly that, along with the momentum representation, there is…
Differences between vector potentials in different gauges contain no dynamics in both classical and quantum electrodynamics and chromodynamics. Consequently, once gauge invariance is established, results calculated in non-covariant gauges…
In this article, we show that in the level of quantum mechanics, a photon position operator with commuting components can be obtained in a more natural way; in the level of quantum field theory, the photon position operator corresponds to…
Photon operators with the proper $J^{PC}$ quantum numbers are constructed, including one made of elementary plaquettes. In compact U(1) lattice gauge theory, these explicit photon operators are shown to permit direct confirmation of the…