The Quantum Split: A Theorized Truncated Photon Reveals an Infinite Photon State

A University of Oslo team theorizes that by using a fast optical shutter to create a left/right superposition, a photon can be effectively “cut” into a highly nonclassical state that, in principle, contains photons with numbers extending to infinity. The result isn’t two photons or a photon plus vacuum; instead, removing the shutter pulls photons from the vacuum, forming a sharp edge with a transition region. Local measurements on either side would resemble a single-photon state and vacuum respectively, even though the underlying state is much more complex. The study is purely theoretical but highlights surprising aspects of quantum field theory and wave–particle duality, and could in principle be tested experimentally.