Articles by others on the same topic
Quantum optics studies light using quantum states of the electromagnetic field and their interaction with matter. Photon statistics asks how detections fluctuate; the quantum theory of optical coherence relates those detections to field correlations. A coherent state, thermal light, and a Fock state can have the same mean photon number yet different pair counts. This distinction makes photon counting useful for testing sources intended to emit one photon at a time.
Quantum optics is a field of study that examines the interaction between light (photons) and matter at the quantum level. It combines principles from quantum mechanics and optics to explore phenomena that cannot be explained by classical physics alone. This field investigates how light behaves as both a wave and a particle, leading to various quantum phenomena such as quantum entanglement, superposition, and quantum states of light.