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The language of Einstein spoken by optical instruments
Einstein had to learn the mathematics of Lorentz transformations in order to
complete his covariant formulation of Maxwell's equations. The mathematics of
Lorentz transformations, called the Lorentz group, continues playing its
important role in optical sciences. It is the basic mathematical language for
coherent and squeezed states. It is noted that the six-parameter Lorentz group
can be represented by two-by-two matrices. Since the beam transfer matrices in
ray optics is largely based on two-by-two matrices or matrices, the
Lorentz group is bound to be the basic language for ray optics, including
polarization optics, interferometers, lens optics, multilayer optics, and the
Poincar\'e sphere. Because the group of Lorentz transformations and ray optics
are based on the same two-by-two matrix formalism, ray optics can perform
mathematical operations which correspond to transformations in special
relativity. It is shown, in particular, that one-lens optics provides a
mathematical basis for unifying the internal space-time symmetries of massive
and massless particles in the Lorentz-covariant world.Comment: LaTex 8 pages, presented at the 10th International Conference on
Quantum Optics (Minsk, Belarus, May-June 2004), to be published in the
proceeding