Quantum optics

Sub-field of quantum physics and optics Quantum optics is a branch of atomic, molecular, and optical physics and quantum chemistry that studies the behavior of photons (individual quanta of light). It includes the study of the particle-like properties of photons and their interaction with, for instance, atoms and molecules. Photons have been used to test many of the counter-intuitive predictions of quantum mechanics, such as entanglement and teleportation, and are a useful resource for quantum information processing. History Light propagating in a restricted volume of space has its energy and momentum quantized into an integer number of particles known as photons. Quantum optics investigates the nature and effects of light as a collection of discrete quanta known as photons. The first major development leading to this understanding was Max Planck's 1900 modeling of the blackbody radiation spectrum, which hypothesized that energy is emitted in discrete units. The photoelectric effect was further evidence of this quantization as explained by Albert Einstein in a 1905 paper, a discovery for which he was to be awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921. Niels Bohr showed that the hypothesis of op