INTERFERENCE PROPERTIES OF PHOTONS,
Abstract
The Brown-Twiss photon correlation effect is dis cussed in purely quantum-mechanical terms. It is shown that for states incoherent in the sense that the phase of the electric field component at each frequency is unknown, Bose commutation re lations imply the existence of intensity beats at all the difference frequencies. This result does not depend on lack of knowledge of the number of photons at each frequency; the beats are obtained even if the state is known to be an n-photon one. This derivation is compared with the classical theories of Brown and Twiss, and Purcell. A discussion is also given of interference in spa tially localized states. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 01, 1963
- Accession Number
- AD0426667
Entities
People
- David W. Ross
Organizations
- Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories