The photonsthe particles that make up light, they have their own shape. And today we finally know what it is thanks to physicists at the University of Birmingham, who in their laboratories have managed to define for the first time in history the precise shape of a single photon at the moment of its emission. The details have been published in the magazine Physical Review Letters.
What was the analysis about?
The thing goes like this. Given the possibilities that light has to exist and propagate through its environment, the interactions that occur between the photons themselves are exceptionally difficult to model and it is extremely complex to calculate their shape. In the new studyGiven such a problem, the researchers decided to explore the nature of photons in order to show how they are emitted by atoms and molecules and how they are modeled by their environment. Specifically, scientists investigated a theory that explains how light and matter interact at the quantum levelthus creating a mathematically exact visualization of the shape of a photon. “The visualization is an exact simulation of a photon emitted by an atom that is on the surface of a nanoparticle [de silicio]”he commented to New Atlas co-author Benjamin Yuen. “Our calculations allowed us to convert a seemingly unsolvable problem in something that can be calculated. “We were able to produce this image of a photon, something that had never been seen in physics.”
The shape of the photon for the first time
But let’s explain what “the shape” of a photon means. It is difficult to define since it does not mean exactly the same as being able to illustrate the shape of a normal object, like a pencil, for example. In this case, it means rather a intensity distribution, that is, a map of where the photon can be expected to be found at any given time. “The shape of the photon is profoundly influenced by the nanoparticle, which makes it thousands of times more likely that the photon will be emitted and even allows it to be reabsorbed by the atom multiple times,” adds Yuen. “In addition, and one of the strangest things about quantum mechanics, is that before the photon is detected, all the detailed information about this distribution of intensity through what we call a ‘wave function‘, which is exactly what we have been able to discover.” The wave function refers to a fundamental concept of quantum physics that describes the state, at a given moment, of a system; It helps define the position of a subatomic particle based on the probability that it is found in a specific place.
What opens up from the study
The results of the new study are so relevant because they greatly increase our understanding of the way in which the light with the subject. By having the opportunity to precisely define how a photon interacts with matter and other elements in its environment, scientists will be able, for example, to design new ‘nanophotonic’ technologies for quantum computingsensors and solar cells. “This work helps us better understand the exchange of energy between light and matter and better understand how light radiates to its near and far surroundings,” concludes Yuen. “Much of this information was once considered just ‘noise,’ but there is so much in it that we can now make sense of it and use it. By understanding this, we lay the foundation for being able to design light-matter interactions for future applications, such as better sensors, improved photovoltaic power cells or quantum computing.”
Article originally published in WIRED Italy. Adapted by Mauricio Serfatty Godoy.
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