Photons -- Light Quanta

TL;DR

This paper proposes an alternative approach to quantizing the electromagnetic field by starting from relativistic quantum mechanics of photons, offering a different perspective from the canonical field quantization method.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method for describing the quantum electromagnetic field based on relativistic quantum mechanics of photons, bridging classical and quantum descriptions.

Findings

Photon description as elementary particles aligns with classical electromagnetic theory

The approach provides a smooth transition from photon mechanics to full quantum field theory

Offers a new perspective on the foundations of quantum electrodynamics

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to show that the standard method of introducing the quantum description of the electromagnetic field -- by canonical field quantization -- is not the only one. We have chosen instead as the starting point the relativistic quantum mechanics of photons. Our present understanding of the nature of photons significantly differs from what has been known years ago when the concept of a photon has only been emerging. We show how the description of photons treated as elementary particles merges smoothly with the classical description of the electromagnetic field and leads finally to the full theory of the quantized electromagnetic field.