- #1
wotanub
- 230
- 8
So I know that a linearly polarized photon is in a state
[itex]ψ = cos(θ)\left|x\right\rangle + sin(θ)\left|y\right\rangle[/itex]
What if θ depends on time maybe something like [itex]θ\equiv\frac{E_{0}t}{\hbar}[/itex]? The polarization is linear at any time t, it rotates as time passes? Isn't that circular polarization? What's the difference between the states?
This is my attempt at an explanation:
Is it correct to say that the polarizations photons in the state I'm describing rotate as they move through time, and circularly polarized photons (in a time independent state) rotate as they move through space?
I think this would imply that if I put my photons on a polarizer and measure the intensity, it would oscillate with a frequency [itex]ω=\frac{E_{0}}{\hbar}[/itex]
Let me know if this is sound physics.
[itex]ψ = cos(θ)\left|x\right\rangle + sin(θ)\left|y\right\rangle[/itex]
What if θ depends on time maybe something like [itex]θ\equiv\frac{E_{0}t}{\hbar}[/itex]? The polarization is linear at any time t, it rotates as time passes? Isn't that circular polarization? What's the difference between the states?
This is my attempt at an explanation:
Is it correct to say that the polarizations photons in the state I'm describing rotate as they move through time, and circularly polarized photons (in a time independent state) rotate as they move through space?
I think this would imply that if I put my photons on a polarizer and measure the intensity, it would oscillate with a frequency [itex]ω=\frac{E_{0}}{\hbar}[/itex]
Let me know if this is sound physics.