As far as I know, according to quantum field theory, there are some photons that
ID: 1373498 • Letter: A
Question
As far as I know, according to quantum field theory, there are some photons that go faster than c, which is the speed of light in vacuum.
However, there seems to be a paper and a corresponding experiment that show every photon obeys the speed limit of c. (http://physics.aps.org/synopsis-for/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.243602)
So, my question is:
Is this experiment accepted universally?
Regardless of the acceptance of the experiment, if every single photon is shown to obey the speed limit of c, what does this mean for quantum field theory?
Explanation / Answer
As far as I know, according to quantum field theory, there are some photons that go faster than c, which is the speed of light in vacuum.
No, this is not correct. Photons always travel at c. This is an accepted fact throughout the physics community, and it is based on many different experiments.
Regardless of the acceptance of the experiment, if every single photon is shown to obey the speed limit of c, what does this mean for quantum field theory?
It means that quantum field theory works - or rather, that it can work. The alternative, that photons might travel faster than c, would mean that Lorentz invariance fails, and since QFT relies on that invariance, it would mean that QFT would not be a generally valid theory.
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