A Fresh Look at Classical Theory of Light with Applications to Quantum Interferometry

Abstract

The status of quantum physics as the standard model for light and matter was consolidated when it explained all physical phenomena, known at the time of its formulation, which classical physics failed to aptly describe. Since then, its success has been undisputed. It has, with tremendous accuracy, described all the physical events in nature that are known to humans. This overwhelming triumph of quantum physics has overshadowed classical physics in the microscopic world. This thesis is a step towards studying the application of classical physics to seemingly \quantum" e ects. Such an endeavour, apart from testing the strength of classical theories, addresses a larger question that is gaining popularity in the physics community, that is \Wherein lies the boundary between the classical and the quantum?" A better answer to this question has applications beyond intellectual satiation. The eld of quantum information and computing is rapidly growing owing to the predicted advantages it has over classical computation. However, it can't be asserted whether a quantum computer will have a signi cant advantage, partly because there may be a classical algorithm that we haven't found. Mostly, the con dence in a quantum algorithm comes from the fact that it uses one or more e ects that are signatures of quantum behaviour and have no counterparts in the classical regime. Therefore, it is necessary to re ne the boundary between classical and quantum behaviour.