2003/09/29 by S Sivasubramanian, S. Sivasubramanian, G Castellani +11 · 1 citation
Mathematics · Physics and Astronomy · #Mathematics and Applications #Quantum Mechanics and Applications #Quantum and Classical Electrodynamics #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.aop.2003.11.007
published as Annals Phys. 311 (2004) 191-203 · Latex, 13 pages, 3 figures
arxiv created 2003/09/29 · openalex publication_date 2003/12/22 · arxiv updated 2009/12/01 · openalex created_date 2016/06/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Employing Maxwell's equations as the field theory of the photon, quantum mechanical operators for spin, chirality, helicity, velocity, momentum, energy and position are derived. The photon ``Zitterbewegung'' along helical paths is explored. The resulting non-commutative geometry of photon position and the quantum version of the Pythagorean theorem is discussed. The distance between two photons in a polarized beam of given helicity is shown to have a discrete spectrum. Such a spectrum should become manifest in measurements of two photon coincidence counts. The proposed experiment is briefly described.