Quantum distributions for the electromagnetic field

M. Grigorescu

Physica A: Statistical Mechanics and its Applications, 2021, vol. 583, issue C

Abstract: The coherence properties of the classical waves are discussed in terms of the Cauchy problem for the wave equation, and of a discrete representation provided by a lattice of coupled Hamiltonian systems. Wave quanta are related to specific action–angle fields, and phase-space distributions of phonons and photons are obtained by Wigner transform. For photons in a thermal environment, the proposed Wigner function evolves towards the Planck equilibrium distribution. It is shown that the free electromagnetic field can also be found in states of definite helicity, described by a complex vector potential.

Keywords: Photon wave function; Quantum noise and thermal radiation; Longitudinal electromagnetic field (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:phsmap:v:583:y:2021:i:c:s0378437121005513

DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2021.126278

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