Light Is Fundamentally a Particle, Not a Wave

Aviv Karnieli, Nicholas Rivera, Ady Arie +1 more

Coherent emission of light by free charged particles is believed to be successfully captured by classical electromagnetism in all experimental settings. However, recent advances triggered fundamental questions regarding the role of the particle wave function in these processes. Here, we find that even in seemingly classical experimental regimes, light emission is fundamentally tied to the quantum coherence and correlations of the emitting particle. We use quantum electrodynamics to show how the particle's momentum uncertainty determines the optical coherence of the emitted light. We find that the temporal duration of Cherenkov radiation, envisioned for almost a century as a shock wave of light, is limited by underlying entanglement between the particle and light. Our findings enable new capabilities in electron microscopy for measuring quantum correlations of shaped electrons. Last, we propose new Cherenkov detection schemes, whereby measuring spectral photon autocorrelations can unveil the wave function structure of any charged high-energy particle.

Ronald J. Friis

Jules J. Berman

This chapter describes how fundamental particles can be conceived as wave packets. In the course of this chapter, proof is offered that waves, their superpositions, and their rotations can all be easily expressed in terms of Euler's formula (which is itself proven in the text). A short derivation of the Schrödinger wave equation is also provided. Other topics in this chapter include: a proof that fundamental particles and wave packets are equivalent, a proof that the speed of light in a vacuum is constant, a proof of Einstein's famous equation that energy equals mass times the speed of light squared, and proof that photons are massless but that massless light carries energy and momentum. An understanding of physical waves leads to an understanding of how all known physical interactions unfold.

David W. Ball

Shreyansh Biswal

Light is actually a fundamental particle like (photon quanta of the EM field).The Wave phenomena come from the quantum field structure and the superposition of photon probability amplitudes.There is no separate dual essence - The photon formalism predicts wave behaviour.

Vera Köester