2023-08-28 11:00:12
Since the work of Newton and Huygens in the 17th century, the debate over the nature of light – wave or particle – has been an intense scientific subject. From now on, a team from the Stevens Institute of Technology, led by Xiaofeng Qian, offers us a new look at this debate (A debate is a (constructive) discussion on a specific or substantive subject, announced in advance,… .) centuries old using a theorem (A theorem is a proposition that can be mathematically demonstrated, i.e. a…) mechanics (In common parlance, mechanics is the field of machines, motors , vehicles, organs…) dating back 350 years, usually applied to pendulums and planets, to explore the complex behavior of light waves.
Physicists use an old theorem to unveil new properties of light waves.
Credit: Stevens Institute of Technology.
Qian and his team discovered that a degree of non-quantum entanglement of a light wave is directly related to its degree of polarization ( polarization of electromagnetic waves; polarization due to moments, etc.). As one increases, the other decreases, allowing the degree of entanglement to be inferred from the polarization and vice versa. This implies that complex optical properties can be inferred from a simpler measurement: light intensity.
To arrive at this discovery, the team used a mechanical theorem formulated by Huygens in 1673. Although this theorem usually describes the relationships between masses and their rotational moment, Qian succeeded in applying it to light. How ? Considering light intensity as a “mass (The term mass is used to refer to two quantities attached to one…)” and mapping it into a coordinate system explained by Huygens’ theorem.
The ability to represent a light wave using this mechanical system has allowed the team to reveal previously unknown connections between wave properties. The relationships between entanglement and polarization became evident.
According to Qian, understanding these relationships can have practical implications. It would be possible to deduce complex properties of optical systems from simpler light intensity measurements. Moreover, these discoveries pave the way for the use of mechanical systems to simulate and better understand quantum wave systems.
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