  The interference of two independent single-photon pulses impinging on a beam
splitter is analysed in a generalised time-resolved manner. Different aspects
of the phenomenon are elaborated using different representations of the
single-photon wave packets, like the decomposition into single-frequency field
modes or spatio-temporal modes matching the photonic wave packets. Both
representations lead to equivalent results, and a photon-by-photon analysis
reveals that the quantum-mechanical two-photon interference can be interpreted
as a classical one-photon interference once a first photon is detected. A novel
time-dependent quantum-beat effect is predicted if the interfering photons have
different frequencies. The calculation also reveals that full two-photon fringe
visibility can be achieved under almost any circumstances by applying a
temporal filter to the signal.

Quantum Physics