Photon operators with the proper $J^{PC}$ quantum numbers are constructed, including one made of elementary plaquettes. In compact U(1) lattice gauge theory, these explicit photon operators are shown to permit direct confirmation of the massive and massless states on each side of the phase transition. In the abelian Higgs model, these explicit photon operators avoid some excited state contamination seen with the traditional composite operator, and allow more detailed future studies of the Higgs mechanism.
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