Abstract
A system of coupled quantum harmonic oscillators whose Hamiltonian conserves photon number begets a one-photon correspondence principle (OPCoP), which allows solutions to the classical linear Maxwell equations for propagation in matter to be reinterpreted as precise descriptions of one-photon states. With the help of the OPCoP, we derive the linear classical Maxwell equations from the Schrödinger equation for one-polariton state evolution. The role of the matter’s initial quantum state in setting the macroscopic medium parameters is made explicit. It is shown that most of the kinds of linear Maxwell equations possible follow from this model, thus showing that the vast extant body of linear, sourceless optical waveguide theory [Optical Waveguide Theory (Chapman and Hall, 1983)] can be applied to the exact analysis of one-photon propagation in optical fibers.
© 2007 Optical Society of America
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