ABSTRACT
Photon number state representation, especially the single-photon state representation, and the coherent state representation are widely used to specify the state of a radiation field. The concept of density operator or density matrix is introduced in the process of calculating the expectation value of a quantum observable. People then introduce and distinguish the pure state and mixed state. The quantum states of composite system, especially the state of two-photon field, are studied by introducing an 2-D Hilbert space constructed as the direct or tensor product of the Hilbert spaces of two subsystems. A simple model for the creation of single-photon state and multi-photon state is given with details. The concepts of product state, entangled state, and mixed state are introduced and distinguished. Coherent states form a complete set of vector space. Similar to number states, coherent states can be used as a vector basis for characterizing radiation field, except coherent states are nonorthogonal vectors in general.
