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Updated: Aug 5, 2026
13:02
Fabrication of 1-D Photonic Crystal Cavity on a Nanofiber Using Femtosecond Laser-induced Ablation
Published on: February 25, 2017
Truncated Photon
Isak Cecil Onsager Rukan1, Jan Gulla1, Johannes Skaar1
1University of Oslo, Department of Physics, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway.
Physical Review Letters
|July 31, 2026
Summary
Truncating a single photon with an optical shutter creates an infinite superposition of photon numbers. This complex quantum state behaves like a single photon or vacuum on either side of the transition.
Area of Science:
- Quantum optics
- Quantum information science
- Fundamental physics
Background:
- Elementary particles like photons are indivisible.
- Optical shutters are used to control light.
- The behavior of truncated photons is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the theoretical implications of truncating a single photon using an optical shutter.
- To describe the quantum state resulting from photon truncation.
- To analyze the local properties of the truncated photon state.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of quantum states.
- Description of photon truncation as a quantum operation.
- Examination of the resulting superposition of photon number states.
Main Results:
- Photon truncation does not yield another photon or a photon-vacuum mixture.
- The resulting state is an infinite superposition of photon number states.
- This complex state is locally equivalent to a single photon or vacuum state in distinct regions.
Conclusions:
- The truncation of a single photon leads to a novel quantum state with unique properties.
- This research provides a theoretical framework for understanding photon truncation.
- The findings have implications for quantum information processing and fundamental quantum mechanics.
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