Indian epistemology is of interest to the physicist for its framework of reality includes observers in a fundamental manner. The nature of light in this epistemology is presented with a background on the principal ideas related to space, time and matter. In the Indian physics tradition of Vaiseshika, observables arise as a consequence of motion of which two kinds, intrinsic and extrinsic, are postulated. The atom in itself is not observable for it is taken to be an abstraction with a potential to acquire various attributes based on multiplied arrangements and vibrations. Other Indian approaches to epistemology privilege the subject over matter. In contrast to Western approaches where it is an epiphenomenon, consciousness is taken to have a real existence.
We present new results on cryptography and system state estimation using polarization states of photons. Current
quantum cryptography applications are based on the BB84 protocol which is not secure against photon siphoning
attacks. Recent research has established that the information that can be obtained from a pure state in repeated
experiments is potentially infinite. This can be harnessed by sending a burst of photons confined to a very narrow time
window, each such burst containing several bits of information. The proposed method represents a new way of
transmitting secret information. While polarization shift-keying methods have been proposed earlier, our method is
somewhat different in that it proposes to discover the polarization state of identical photons in a burst from a laser
which codes binary information. We also present results on estimating the state of a system based on the polarization of
the received photons which can have applications in intrusion detection.
This paper considers the amount of information in a photon. It is argued that a photon in a pure state also carries information, which is contrary to established opinion based on von Neumann entropy.
Conference Committee Involvement (5)
The Nature of Light: What are Photons? VI
10 August 2015 | San Diego, California, United States
The Nature of Light: What are Photons? V
26 August 2013 | San Diego, California, United States
The Nature of Light: What are Photons? IV
22 August 2011 | San Diego, California, United States
The Nature of Light: What are Photons? III
3 August 2009 | San Diego, California, United States
The Nature of Light: What are photons?
26 August 2007 | San Diego, California, United States
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