Exploring Divisibility and Summability of 'Photon' Wave Packets in Nonlinear Optical Phenomena

Author:: Prasad, Narasimha
Published:: August 02, 2009.
Physical Description:: 1 electronic document
Additional Creators:: Roychoudhuri, Chandrasekhar

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Summary:

Formulations for second and higher harmonic frequency up and down conversions, as well as multi photon processes directly assume summability and divisibility of photons. Quantum mechanical (QM) interpretations are completely congruent with these assumptions. However, for linear optical phenomena (interference, diffraction, refraction, material dispersion, spectral dispersion, etc.), we have a profound dichotomy. Most optical engineers innovate and analyze all optical instruments by propagating pure classical electromagnetic (EM) fields using Maxwell s equations and gives only lip-service to the concept "indivisible light quanta". Further, irrespective of linearity or nonlinearity of the phenomena, the final results are always registered through some photo-electric or photo-chemical effects. This is mathematically well modeled by a quadratic action (energy absorption) relation. Since QM does not preclude divisibility or summability of photons in nonlinear & multi-photon effects, it cannot have any foundational reason against these same possibilities in linear optical phenomena. It implies that we must carefully revisit the fundamental roots behind all light-matter interaction processes and understand the common origin of "graininess" and "discreteness" of light energy.

Other Subject(s):

Optics

Collection:

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS) Collection.

Note:

Document ID: 20090037673.
LF99-9180.
7421-8.
SPIE Optics and Photonics; 2-6 Aug. 2009; San Diego, CA; United States.

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