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Theoretical study published in Physical Review Letters analyzed what would happen if a photon were intercepted by an ultra-fast optical shutter. The calculation indicates that the attempt to divide the particle would not create two smaller parts, but a superposition with infinite photons
Physicists calculated that trying to split a photon with an ultra-fast optical shutter would not produce two smaller parts, but a superposition with infinite photons, a result that exposes the difference between quantum particles, common objects, and the behavior of the vacuum itself.
A photon does not split into two smaller pieces when it is interrupted in the middle of the wave. In a study published in Physical Review Letters, Skaar and colleagues calculated that the attempt would create infinite photons.
Why the photon cannot be cut
The idea stems from a contradiction in quantum physics. Elementary particles, by definition, are not made up of smaller parts. Even so, a photon behaves like an extensive wave, spread out in space.
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The group analyzed what would happen if a photon passed through an optical shutter, described as an extremely fast mirror, capable of turning on and off to block part of a light pulse.
If this shutter acted fast enough, it could intercept the photon in the middle of the pulse. In practice, this would mean interrupting part of the wave associated with the particle.
To follow the process, the researchers applied quantum equations that describe the electromagnetic field. The analysis followed how the quantum state of the photon would be transformed by the action of the shutter.
Shutter would create infinite photons
The result would not be the formation of a photon on one side and a vacuum on the other. The calculation points to an unusual scenario: a superposition of states containing infinite photons simultaneously.
This consequence appears because, in quantum mechanics, empty space is not completely empty. It contains fluctuations of the electromagnetic field, even when there seem to be no particles present.
By activating the shutter quickly, these fluctuations would be disturbed. The disturbance could spontaneously create new photons, instead of just separating the original pulse into two parts.
If the observation were restricted to the region next to the point where the shutter acted, the state would appear normal, indistinguishable from a photon on one side and a simple vacuum on the other.
Next steps of the research
The work reinforces the distance between the behavior of quantum particles and everyday experience with divisible objects. It also raises questions about measurement, information location, and interpretation of quantum states in space.
Skaar and his colleagues intend to investigate whether the same physics appears when more than one photon is involved. The team also plans to test the extension of the analysis to other elementary particles, such as electrons.
What do you think of the idea that trying to “cut” a photon could generate infinite particles instead of two smaller parts? Leave your comment with your impression of this strangeness of quantum physics and how theoretical discoveries help rethink the vacuum.
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