Introduction to Quantum Optics

Partha Pratim Mondal

Published May 25, 2022• 3 citations

Abstract

Light has long been perceived as a wave, or more specifically as an EM wave, and this is valid with respect to everyday observations. However, experiments involving light have produced surprising results that fall outside the realm of the wave nature of light. These experiments for the first time necessitated that light not be perceived as a wave but more like a particle. Some of these observations include photoelectric, Compton, and two-photon effects. In these experiments, light behaves more as an object filling a space just like a particle rather than a continuous entity like a wave. This is surprising given what we have learned in classical optics. In this chapter, we intend to analyze and understand the particle nature of light and its consequences.

DOI: 10.1063/9780735424517_005

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