  We derive the Wigner functions of polarized photons in the Coulomb gauge with
the $\hbar$ expansion applied to quantum field theory, and identify side-jump
effects for massless photons. We also discuss the photonic chiral vortical
effect for the Chern-Simons current and zilch vortical effect for the zilch
current in local thermal equilibrium as a consistency check for our formalism.
The results are found to be in agreement with those obtained from different
approaches. Moreover, using the real-time formalism, we construct the quantum
kinetic theory (QKT) for polarized photons. By further adopting a specific
power counting scheme for the distribution functions, we provide a more
succinct form of an effective QKT. This photonic QKT involves quantum
corrections associated with self-energy gradients in the collision term, which
are analogous to the side-jump corrections pertinent to spin-orbit interactions
in the chiral kinetic theory for massless fermions. The same theoretical
framework can also be directly applied to weakly coupled gluons in the absence
of background color fields.
