Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Applied Physics Research

Spatial and Temporal Wave Functions of Photon

Dmitri L. Khokhlov

Published Oct 19, 2010• 8 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The quantum mechanical model of electromagnetic waves is considered. The photon as a particle moves with thespeed of light with respect to the CMB frame. The spatial wave function of the photon is introduced as a waveaccompanying the photon, with an infinite speed of spreading throughout the whole space at some moment oftime. The temporal wave function of the photon emitted (absorbed) by the electron is defined through thetemporal wave function of the electron (virtual photon associated with the electron) at some point of space. TheMichelson-Morley experiment is studied with use of both the spatial and temporal wave functions of photon, andthe null result being obtained in both the cases.

DOI
10.5539/apr.v2n2p49

Related papers

Spatial wave functions of photon and electron

Dmitri L. Khokhlov

The quantum mechanical model of the photon and electron is considered. The photon is conceived of as a particle moving with the speed of light which is accompanied by the wave function of the photon spreading out with an infinite speed. The wave function of the electron is introduced in terms of virtual photons tied to the electron. A description of electrostatic and magnetostatic interactions is given through the wave functions of electrons. The approach provides an explanation of the results of recent experiments measuring the speed of propagation of the bound magnetic field.

Journal of Applied Physics•Dec 1, 2010•1 citation

Michelson-Morley Experiment Within the Quantum Mechanics Framework

Dmitri L. Khokhlov

It is revisited the Michelson-Morley experiment within the quantum mechanics framework. One can define the wave function of photon in the whole space at a given moment of time. The phase difference between the source and receiver is a distance between the source and receiver at the time of reception hence it does not depend on the velocity of the frame. Then one can explain the null result of the Michelson-Morley experiment within the quantum mechanics framework.

arXiv:0804.2790•Old and New Concepts of Physics•Feb 6, 2008•3 citations

Transformation for the energy flux of the electromagnetic wave

Dmitri L. Khokhlov, R. Korsakov St

The quantum mechanical model of electromagnetic waves is considered, in which the photon, as a particle, propagates with the speed of light, while the wave function of the photon spreads out with an infinite speed. The Lorentz transformation for the energy flux of electromagnetic wave is obtained while assuming the Galilei transformation for the space and time. The energy of the electromagnetic wave also follows the Lorentz transformation with the volume restricting the wave train not following any transformation.

•Jan 1, 2010•1 citation

La fonction d'onde du photon en principe et en pratique

Vincent Debierre

During these three years we focused on several topics in quantum otpics and quantum electrodynamics. A central theme in our investigations is that of the photon wave function. Can quantum optics and quantum electrodynamics experiments be described simply, in position space, with the help of a wave function describing the photon(s) featured in the experiment ? The answer to that question is not quite obvious: the usual description of photons takes place in the reciprocal space of wave vectors. But these experiments call for a wave mechanical description in the position representation, as is done in quantum mechanics textbooks in situations featuring massive particles. Moreover, in a recent experiment [1], single photon trajectories through a Young two-slit setup have been observed. In order to try and describe these trajectories formally, it is natural to build a wave mechanical formalism for photons. We therefore studied in detail the formal construction of the photon wave function, an object which was little studied until the 1990s. We also studied the properties of the photon wave function in the presence of sources.To do that, we considered several open (interacting) quantum systems. We saw that there exists in principle an infinite number of possibilities when defining the photon wave function. We emphasised several criteria on the basis of which it appears that only three choices for the wave function are interesting. One of them coincides with an object introduced and used by Glauber [2] to study light detection andthe correlations of the electromagnetic field in the quantum regime. We also saw that, in the absence of sources, the propagation equation for a single photon is formally equivalent to Maxwell’s equations. At low photon numbers, the wave function formalism can be very useful. We adapted it to interacting systems,first, to cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) [3], in particular to the experiments carried out by Serge Haroche’s group [4]. We proposed a simple model to describe photons in QED cavities. With this model, and with the helpof the photon wave function, we studied the propagation of photons escaping a cavity. We also constructed the Lindblad master equation without introducing nonunitary quantum jumps (also see [5]). We finally investigated the spacetime evolution of a photon which is emitted during the decay of an atomic electron. After having carefully studied the dynamics of the electronic decay, especially at very short times [6, 7], we set out to describe the emitted electromagnetic field as rigorously as possible. This emitted field, surprisingly, does not evolve causally. Though this is not entirely unexpected in view of Hegerfeldt’s theorem, which states [8] that causality is impossible for quantum systems which are described by a Hamiltonian with a spectrum which is bounded by below, we identified [9] two other sources of non causality. One of them was predicted qualitatively by Shirokov [10], while the other one, which is completely new as far as we can tell, is still to be better understood

•Sep 25, 2015•5 citations

Summarizing what we know about the photon

Harry Paul

How can we construct a picture of the photon from the wealth of observation material available to us? The photon appears to have a split personality: it is neither a wave nor a particle but something else which, depending on the experimental situation, exhibits a wave- or a particle-like behavior. In other words, in the photon (as in material particles such as the electron) the particle–wave dualism becomes manifest. Whereas classically the wave and the particle pictures are separate, quantum mechanics accomplishes a formal synthesis through a unified mathematical treatment. Let us look first at the wave aspect familiar from classical electrodynamics, which seems to be the most natural description. It makes all the different interference phenomena understandable, such as the “interference of the photon with itself” on the one hand and the appearance of spatial and temporal intensity correlations in a thermal radiation field on the other (which are obviously brought about by superposition of elementary waves emitted independently from different atoms). It might come as a surprise (at least for those having quantum mechanical preconceptions) that the classical theory is valid down to arbitrarily small intensities: the visibility of the interference pattern does not deteriorate even for very small intensities – the zero point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field advocated by quantum mechanics do not have a disturbing effect – and is valid not only for conventional interference experiments but also for interference between independently generated light beams (in the form of laser light).

Cambridge University Press eBooks•May 20, 2004•0 citations

What is a photon: structure and wave function

Andrey P. Kanavin, Oleg N Krokhin

Based on the model of a photon as a 'radiation oscillator' of a field moving in space with the speed of light and having a zero rest mass, we have constructed a wave function that describes the photon states of the electromagnetic field. It has been suggested that the entire space where the field is present splits into separate regions of the order of the radiation wavelength, within which the field is coherent and the total field energy is equal to the photon energy.

Quantum Electronics•Aug 5, 2018•4 citations
The quantum mechanical model of electromagnetic waves is considered. The photon as a particle moves with thespeed of light with respect to the CMB frame. The spatial wave function of the photon is introduced as a waveaccompanying the photon, with an infinite speed of spreading throughout the whole space at some moment oftime. The temporal wave function of the photon emitted (absorbed) by the electron is defined through thetemporal wave function of the electron (virtual photon associated with the electron) at some point of space. TheMichelson-Morley experiment is studied with use of both the spatial and temporal wave functions of photon, andthe null result being obtained in both the cases.
The quantum mechanical model of the photon and electron is considered. The photon is conceived of as a particle moving with the speed of light which is accompanied by the wave function of the photon spreading out with an infinite speed. The wave function of the electron is introduced in terms of virtual photons tied to the electron. A description of electrostatic and magnetostatic interactions is given through the wave functions of electrons. The approach provides an explanation of the results of recent experiments measuring the speed of propagation of the bound magnetic field.
The quantum mechanical model of electromagnetic waves is considered, in which the photon, as a particle, propagates with the speed of light, while the wave function of the photon spreads out with an infinite speed. The Lorentz transformation for the energy flux of electromagnetic wave is obtained while assuming the Galilei transformation for the space and time. The energy of the electromagnetic wave also follows the Lorentz transformation with the volume restricting the wave train not following any transformation.
During these three years we focused on several topics in quantum otpics and quantum electrodynamics. A central theme in our investigations is that of the photon wave function. Can quantum optics and quantum electrodynamics experiments be described simply, in position space, with the help of a wave function describing the photon(s) featured in the experiment ? The answer to that question is not quite obvious: the usual description of photons takes place in the reciprocal space of wave vectors. But these experiments call for a wave mechanical description in the position representation, as is done in quantum mechanics textbooks in situations featuring massive particles. Moreover, in a recent experiment [1], single photon trajectories through a Young two-slit setup have been observed. In order to try and describe these trajectories formally, it is natural to build a wave mechanical formalism for photons. We therefore studied in detail the formal construction of the photon wave function, an object which was little studied until the 1990s. We also studied the properties of the photon wave function in the presence of sources.To do that, we considered several open (interacting) quantum systems. We saw that there exists in principle an infinite number of possibilities when defining the photon wave function. We emphasised several criteria on the basis of which it appears that only three choices for the wave function are interesting. One of them coincides with an object introduced and used by Glauber [2] to study light detection andthe correlations of the electromagnetic field in the quantum regime. We also saw that, in the absence of sources, the propagation equation for a single photon is formally equivalent to Maxwell’s equations. At low photon numbers, the wave function formalism can be very useful. We adapted it to interacting systems,first, to cavity quantum electrodynamics (QED) [3], in particular to the experiments carried out by Serge Haroche’s group [4]. We proposed a simple model to describe photons in QED cavities. With this model, and with the helpof the photon wave function, we studied the propagation of photons escaping a cavity. We also constructed the Lindblad master equation without introducing nonunitary quantum jumps (also see [5]). We finally investigated the spacetime evolution of a photon which is emitted during the decay of an atomic electron. After having carefully studied the dynamics of the electronic decay, especially at very short times [6, 7], we set out to describe the emitted electromagnetic field as rigorously as possible. This emitted field, surprisingly, does not evolve causally. Though this is not entirely unexpected in view of Hegerfeldt’s theorem, which states [8] that causality is impossible for quantum systems which are described by a Hamiltonian with a spectrum which is bounded by below, we identified [9] two other sources of non causality. One of them was predicted qualitatively by Shirokov [10], while the other one, which is completely new as far as we can tell, is still to be better understood
How can we construct a picture of the photon from the wealth of observation material available to us? The photon appears to have a split personality: it is neither a wave nor a particle but something else which, depending on the experimental situation, exhibits a wave- or a particle-like behavior. In other words, in the photon (as in material particles such as the electron) the particle–wave dualism becomes manifest. Whereas classically the wave and the particle pictures are separate, quantum mechanics accomplishes a formal synthesis through a unified mathematical treatment. Let us look first at the wave aspect familiar from classical electrodynamics, which seems to be the most natural description. It makes all the different interference phenomena understandable, such as the “interference of the photon with itself” on the one hand and the appearance of spatial and temporal intensity correlations in a thermal radiation field on the other (which are obviously brought about by superposition of elementary waves emitted independently from different atoms). It might come as a surprise (at least for those having quantum mechanical preconceptions) that the classical theory is valid down to arbitrarily small intensities: the visibility of the interference pattern does not deteriorate even for very small intensities – the zero point fluctuations of the electromagnetic field advocated by quantum mechanics do not have a disturbing effect – and is valid not only for conventional interference experiments but also for interference between independently generated light beams (in the form of laser light).