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Journal of Modern Physics

Features of Malus Law in the Region of X-Ray Radiation

Andrey Nikolaevich Volobuev, Eugene S. Petrov, Eugene L. Ovchinnikov

Published Jan 1, 2012• 1 citation
Publisher

Abstract

The light propagation through system a polarizer-analyzer is investigated on the basis of quantum conceptions about the nature of light. It is shown, that Malus law based on principles of classical electrodynamics not completely takes into account all effects which can occur at the light propagation through system a polarizer-analyzer. The phenomenon of possible change of frequency of light in particular drops out, for example in the region of X-ray radiation. The deduction of Malus law based on quantum principles is given. For comparison the differential effective section of interaction of a photon and electron with take into account of rotation of a plane of polarization of a photon in Compton’s effect is found.

DOI
10.4236/jmp.2012.37080

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The light propagation through system a polarizer-analyzer is investigated on the basis of quantum conceptions about the nature of light. It is shown, that Malus law based on principles of classical electrodynamics not completely takes into account all effects which can occur at the light propagation through system a polarizer-analyzer. The phenomenon of possible change of frequency of light in particular drops out, for example in the region of X-ray radiation. The deduction of Malus law based on quantum principles is given. For comparison the differential effective section of interaction of a photon and electron with take into account of rotation of a plane of polarization of a photon in Compton’s effect is found.
It is shown that the Malus law based on the principles of classical electrodynamics not completely takes into account all effects which can occur at passage of a linearly polarized light through the analyzer. On the basis of the quantum representations about the nature of light the form of Malus law which is taking into account transfer of a part of a photon impulse to particle on which occurs reradiation of light forward is found. Calculations are carried out within the framework of the perturbations theory with use of the Feynman diagram technics.
We analyze the behavior of light as it passes through systems composed of polarizing filters at different angular orientations. The analysis is initially conducted in the context of classical optics, using Malus's Law to calculate the transmitted intensity for the cases of two perpendicular filters (0° and 90°) and three filters (0°, 45°, and 90°). We then apply quantum mechanics to describe the phenomenon using state notation and the probabilistic interpretation of the projection of the polarization states of photons.
Maxwell showed that light consists of electric and magnetic fields that oscillate in directions perpendicular to the direction of propagation. Associated with this picture of light as an electromagnetic wave is an important property—the polarization of light. The polarization of light is related to the direction of oscillation of the electric field in an electromagnetic wave. In this chapter, the basic principles of quantum mechanics are discussed by studying the polarization property of a single photon. First the properties of a polarizer are presented and Malus’ law for polarized light is derived. Next it is shown that the basic features of quantum mechanics can be understood via an analysis of a single photon passing through a polarizer. This simple system allows an introduction of Dirac’s ket and bra notations for a quantum state. Finally the transformation properties of the quantum beam splitter and the polarization beam splitters are discussed.
In this chapter we build up the basic concepts of quantum mechanics using two simple examples, following a heuristic approach which is more inductive than deductive. We start with a familiar phenomenon, that of the polarization of light, which will allow us to introduce the necessary mathematical formalism. We show that the description of polarization leads naturally to the need for a two-dimensional complex vector space, and we establish the correspondence between a polarization state and a vector in this space, referred to as the space of polarization states. We then move on to the quantum description of photon polarization and illustrate the construction of probability amplitudes as scalar products in this space. The second example will be that of spin 1/2, where the space of states is again two-dimensional. We construct the most general states of spin 1/2 using rotational invariance. Finally, we introduce dynamics, which allows us to follow the time evolution of a state vector. The analogy with the polarization of light will serve as a guide to constructing the quantum theory of photon polarization, but no such classical analog is available for constructing the quantum theory for spin 1/2. In this case the quantum theory will be constructed without reference to any classical theory, using an assumption about the dimension of the space of states and symmetry principles. The polarization of light and photon polarization The polarization of an electromagnetic wave The polarization of light or, more generally, of an electromagnetic wave, is a familiar phenomenon related to the vector nature of the electromagnetic field. Let us consider a plane wave of monochromatic light of frequency ω propagating in the positive z direction.
The polarization of light Our first example of a qubit will be the polarization of a photon. First we briefly review the subject of light polarization. The polarization of light was demonstrated for the first time by the Chevalier Malus in 1809. He observed the light of the setting sun reflected by the glass of a window in the Luxembourg Palace in Paris through a crystal of Iceland spar. He showed that when the crystal was rotated, one of the two images of the sun disappeared. Iceland spar is a birefringent crystal which, as we shall see below, decomposes a light ray into two rays polarized in perpendicular directions, while the ray reflected from the glass is (partially) polarized. When the crystal is suitably oriented one then observes the disappearance (or strong attenuation) of one of the two rays. The phenomenon of polarization displays the vector nature of light waves, a property which is shared by shear sound waves: in an isotropic crystal, a sound wave can correspond either to a vibration transverse to the direction of propagation, i.e., a shear wave, or to a longitudinal vibration, i.e., a compression wave. In the case of light the vibration is only transverse: the electric field of a light wave is orthogonal to the propagation direction.
This chapter is centered upon the concepts of the quantum nature of light. It begins with a discussion of the photoelectric effect, which provides historical background and a vehicle to discuss the properties of photons. In addition, the photoelectric effect provides the starting point for the explanation of the production of X-rays. After a study of the X-ray spectrum, Compton scattering is introduced as another example of the photon nature of light. As an appendix, the second synthesis opportunity of the volume is presented about lasers. These quantum-electronic devices provide an opportunity to synthesize almost all the topics covered in the volume from the quantum nature of light and matter, to optics, electronics, and thermodynamics. This section is optional, but provides a way to bring the entire text together in the explanation of well-known devices.