COHERENCE AND PROPERTIES OF THE RIGHT EIGENSTATES OF THE ANNIHILATION OPERATOR.
Abstract
The report reviews some of the more recent quantum mechanical aspects of photon counting, optical coherence, and the space-time correlation of a lightbeam. The coherent states of the radiation field are defined in terms of the photon number states, and it is seen that these coherent states are the best ones to describe a classical radiation field, in that photon number and phase have an exact compromise for these states. A short discussion of the phase state is given. Many properties of the coherent state are described, and the density matrix for a mixed coherent and noise field in the photon number representation is given. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1968
- Accession Number
- AD0669380
Entities
People
- Michael T. Tavis
Organizations
- The Aerospace Corporation