Interferometry via the Dirac Notation
The genesis of quantum optics can be found in the Dirac discussion (from the 1930s) on interference as disclosed in The Principles of Quantum Mechanics (Dirac, 1978). This is a masterful and prophetic discussion that begins by considering a roughly monochromatic light source. The discussion continues by considering a beam of light consisting of a large number of photons. In other words, Dirac is considering a beam of light with a definite spectral linewidth and high power, a beam of light as available from narrow-linewidth highpower lasers (Duarte, 1998, 2003). For the discussion at hand, the term monochromatic is reserved for single-photon emission, while quasi-monochromatic, ...
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