SciTechDaily reports:

A groundbreaking quantum theory has allowed researchers to define the exact shape of a single photon for the first time.

Scientists at the University of Birmingham, whose work is featured in Physical Review Letters, have delved into the intricate behavior of photons — individual particles of light. Their research reveals how photons are emitted by atoms or molecules and how their shape is influenced by the surrounding environment.

This complex interaction gives rise to infinite possibilities for light to exist and move through its surroundings. However, this vast potential makes modeling these interactions an incredibly difficult challenge—one that quantum physicists have been tackling for decades.

By grouping these possibilities into distinct sets, the Birmingham team was 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. [Continue reading…]