Linked Questions
11 questions linked to/from Born rule for photons: it works, but it shouldn't?
68
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11
answers
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What equation describes the wavefunction of a single photon?
The Schrödinger equation describes the quantum mechanics of a single massive non-relativistic particle. The Dirac equation governs a single massive relativistic spin-½ particle. The photon is a ...
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71
votes
7
answers
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What's the physical meaning of the statement that "photons don't have positions"?
It's been mentioned elsewhere on this site that one cannot define a position operator for the one-photon sector of the quantized electromagnetic field, if one requires the position operator have ...
- 104k
49
votes
8
answers
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Amplitude of an electromagnetic wave containing a single photon
Given a light pulse in vacuum containing a single photon with an energy $E=h\nu$, what is the peak value of the electric / magnetic field?
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20
votes
7
answers
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Are coherent states of light 'classical' or 'quantum'?
Coherent states of light, defined as
$$|\alpha\rangle=e^{-\frac{|\alpha|^2}{2}}\sum_{n=0}^\infty \frac{\alpha^n}{\sqrt{n!}}|n\rangle
$$
for a given complex number $\alpha$ and where $|n\rangle$ is a ...
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23
votes
4
answers
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Does the uncertainty principle apply to photons?
Wikipedia claims the following:
More generally, the normal concept of a Schrödinger probability wave function cannot be applied to photons. Being massless, they cannot be localized without being ...
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2
votes
5
answers
1k
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Is there a field of physics that attempts to understand the properties of light from a single perspective? [closed]
Hearing about the wave-particle duality of light, I can’t stop wondering whether there is a field of study that attempts to understand the properties of light from a single perspective.
Is there such ...
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8
votes
5
answers
1k
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Is a single photon also a Maxwellian wave?
A photon is associated with the equations $h\nu$ and $\frac{hc}{\lambda}$.
My book (Serway Modern Physics) says that Einstein explained the photoelectric effect by assuming that the classical ...
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0
votes
2
answers
204
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What happen to the electromagnetic waves when a photon's "wave function" collapses?
We interpret the electron's wave function as a probabilistic wave function. During a measurement, it has the probability to collapse to any of the eigenstates of the measurement operator based on the ...
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-2
votes
1
answer
344
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Is light particle of wave?
We know that Young's double slit experiment shows that light is a wave.
On the other hand photoelectric effect shows that light is made up of photons.
How can light be both at the same time?
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3
votes
2
answers
262
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What is electromagnetic radiation (when it is not a 'wave' of EM fields or interacting locally as a photon)? [closed]
My questions are related to the question asked at Are EM radiation and EM waves the same thing?. My background is in math (my Ph.D. thesis was in geometric analysis), and I have only taken basic ...
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2
votes
0
answers
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Energy in an electromagnetic wave
A radio antenna creates EM waves through switching the polarization in the antenna at a certain frequency. I assume the the energy of the photons produced in this process amount to E=hf for each ...
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