Revisiting the Photon Concept Within Standard Particle Physics Models

Should photons possess a greater number of quantum states than previously believed, it would revolutionize our comprehension of particle physics. Recent research has unveiled methods for physicists to explore this groundbreaking concept through experiments.

Elementary particles exhibit a trait known as Spin. For light particles, or photons, the spin can exist in one of two configurations, indicating that light is polarized in either of two orientations. But what if photons had further possibilities—what if they…