QM2 - Quantum Matter and Materials | October 26, 14:30

On the quantum mechanics of a single photon


The quantum mechanical wave equation for a single photon is conspicuously missing from textbooks on quantum mechanics. Opinions range from the claim that this notion is meaningless to suggestions that Maxwell's electromagnetic field equations supply it in disguise. After reviewing the arguments pro and con, we will propose a Lorentz covariant wave equation for a photon and demonstrate that it possesses the desirable features. This is joint work with A. Shadi Tahvildar-Zadeh.


Michael Kiessling, Rutgers University
Seminar Room of the Institute of Physics II
Contact: Markus Kunze