We show that the standard method of introducing the quantum description of the electromagnetic field—by canonical field quantization—is not the only one. We have chosen here the relativistic quantum mechanics of the photon as the starting point. The treatment of photons as elementary particles merges smoothly with the description in terms of the quantized electromagnetic field but it also reveals some essential differences. The most striking result is the appearance of various measures of fidelity for quantum states of photons. These measures are used to characterize the localization of photons.

• Received 2 July 2020
• Accepted 14 September 2020

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.102.042201