Wigner's Photons

Abstract

If Einstein's photon is $E = cp = \hbar\omega$, Wigner's photon is its helicity which is a Lorentz-invariant concept coming from the E(2)-like little group for massless particles. In addition, the E(2)-like little group has two translation-like degrees of freedom. What happens to them? They are associated with the gauge degree of freedom. Since the physics of polarized light waves can be formulated within the framework of the Lorentz group, it is now possible to use polarization experiments to study the E(2)-like little group in terms of quantities that can be measured in laboratories.