https://phys.org/news/2024-11-theory-reveals-photon.html
'A new theory that explains how light and matter interact at the quantum level
has enabled researchers to define for the first time the precise shape of a
single photon.
Research at the University of Birmingham, published in
Physical Review
Letters, explores the nature of photons (individual particles of light) in
unprecedented detail to show how they are emitted by atoms or molecules and
shaped by their environment.
The nature of this interaction leads to infinite possibilities for light to
exist and propagate, or travel, through its surrounding environment. This
limitless possibility, however, makes the interactions exceptionally hard to
model, and is a challenge that quantum physicists have been working to address
for several decades.
By grouping these possibilities into distinct sets, the Birmingham team were
able to produce a model that describes not only the interactions between the
photon and the emitter, but also how the energy from that interaction travels
into the distant "far field."
At the same time, they were able to use their calculations to produce a
visualization of the photon itself.
First author Dr. Benjamin Yuen, in the University's School of Physics,
explained, "Our calculations enabled us to convert a seemingly insolvable
problem into something that can be computed. And, almost as a byproduct of the
model, we were able to produce this image of a photon, something that hasn't
been seen before in physics."'
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*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
