Nonclassical polarization dynamics in classical-like states

Abstract

Quantum polarization is investigated by means of a trajectory picture based on the Bohmian formulation of quantum mechanics. Relevant examples of classical-like two-mode field states are thus examined, namely, Glauber and SU(2) coherent states. Although these states are often regarded as classical, the analysis here shows that the corresponding electric-field polarization trajectories display topologies very different from those expected from classical electrodynamics. Rather than incompatibility with the usual classical model, this result demonstrates the dynamical richness of quantum motions, determined by local variations of the system quantum phase in the corresponding (polarization) configuration space, absent in classical-like models. These variations can be related to the evolution in time of the phase, but also to its dependence on configurational coordinates, which is the crucial factor to generate motion in the case of stationary states like those considered here. In this regard, for completeness these results are compared with those obtained from nonclassical NOON states.