The calculated photon: Visualization of a quantum field

Ligare, Martin; Oliveri, Ryan

doi:doi:10.1119/1.1417531

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American Journal of Physics -- January 2002 -- Volume 70, Issue 1, pp. 58

The calculated photon: Visualization of a quantum field

Martin Ligare and Ryan Oliveri

Department of Physics, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837

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We calculate spatial localization and phase properties of spontaneously emitted photons. Our model is simple yet fully quantized: the emitting atom is a two-level atom located in a one-dimensional multimode optical cavity. Although the photon state vector does not have a position-space representation, the expectation value of the square of the electric field operator (intensity) is spatially localized and this pattern shifts at the speed of light. The emitted photon exhibits classical-like phase properties in the intensity expectation value when it “interferes with itself” after reflection. The phase properties of the emitted radiation are also evident at times sufficiently long for the radiation to have returned to the emitting atom before the decay of excited atomic state is complete. © 2002 American Association of Physics Teachers.