Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Physical Review

Photon-Counting Distributions of Modulated Laser Beams

Sebastian Fray, F. A. Johnson, Robin Jones, T. P. McLean, Edward R. Pike

Published Jan 10, 1967• 34 citations
Publisher

Abstract

The first explicit experimental verification is given of Mandel's formula relating the photon-counting distribution of a radiation field to its intensity fluctuations. This was done by measuring the counting distributions obtained from a He-Ne gas-laser beam having superimposed square- and sine-wave modulations of various depths and frequencies.

DOI
10.1103/physrev.153.357

Related papers

Statistical properties of counting distributions for intensity-modulated sources

Paul R. Prucnal, Malvin Carl Teich

Statistical properties such as the cumulants, and the central, factorial, and ordinary moments are obtained for photocounting distributions when the incident radiation is intensity-modulated with arbitrary statistics. The results are applied in some detail to the cases of triangular, sinusoidal, and square-wave modulation of multimode superposed coherent and chaotic radiation. The coefficient of variation, skewness, and kurtosis are obtained as a function of modulation depth. Comparison is made with experimental data in the cases of triangular and sinusoidal modulation of a laser source.

Journal of the Optical Society of America•Apr 1, 1979•15 citations

Analysis of Light Fluctuations from Photon Counting Statistics*

Gabriel Bédard

It is well known that photoelectric measurements yield information about the statistical behavior of fluctuating light beams. The probability of n photoelectrons being ejected, in a fixed time interval, from the photosensitive surface of the photoelectric detector, upon which the light beam is normally incident, is a linear (Poisson) transform of the probability density for the intensity of the beam. With the help of some plausible assumptions, the present analysis provides solutions to the problem of inverting the Poisson transform, thus determining the probability density for the intensity from experimentally obtained photocounting distributions. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated by an actual inversion of a typical experimental counting distribution. The technique is of particular interest in connection with efforts to understand the statistical behavior of optical fields, especially of laser fields.

Journal of the Optical Society of America•Oct 1, 1967•32 citations

Analysis of a light beam with a periodically modulated intensity by triggered photon counting

M. Á. Rebolledo, J. M. Alvarez, Julio Cesar Amare

Theoretical expressions for the factorial moments of the triggered photon-counting distribution that corresponds to a light beam with a periodically modulated intensity are derived. Two triggering procedures are considered: the time-window triggering procedure (which has been experimentally checked for Gaussian light by other authors) and the first-photopulse triggering procedure (which is a faster procedure). The theoretical expressions that correspond to the latter procedure are experimentally checked in this paper by using a square-wave signal. The errors involved in the analysis of the information contained in the light beam, when this information is obtained from the measurement of the first-order factorial moment, are studied.

Journal of the Optical Society of America A•Jan 1, 1986•6 citations

Observation of dead-time-modified photocounting distributions for modulated laser radiation

Malvin Carl Teich, Giovanni Vannucci

We report a series of optical experiments that verify the theoretical photocounting distributions obtained by Diament and Teich for triangularly and sinusoidally modulated laser radiation. Another series of experiments validates the (nonparalyzable) dead-time-modified versions of these formulas obtained by Cantor and Teich. A new expression is obtained for the counting distribution in the presence of modulation and paralyzable dead time. The results have application in photon counting, nuclear counting, and neural counting.

Journal of the Optical Society of America•Oct 1, 1978•32 citations

Sub-poissonian statistics of fluorescence from a single atom driven by a continuous wave laser field

Игорь Сергеевич Осадько

Statistics of fluorescence photons emitted by a single two-level atom interacting with a continuous wave laser field are analyzed. The photon-counting distribution is calculated for the so-called intermediate fluorescence photons, i.e., those counted during the time interval between instants at which photons are emitted. The result is a sub-Poissonian (narrower than Poisson) distribution, which agrees with experimental observations. This intermediate-photon distribution is used to calculate the average number of fluorescence photons, the second factorial moment of the photon-counting distribution, and Mandel’s Q parameter commonly used to evaluate the deviation of photon statistics from the Poisson distribution. The theoretical expressions obtained for moments of the intermediate-photon distribution are different from well-known Mandel’s formulas.

Journal of Experimental and Theoretical Physics•Jul 1, 2005•14 citations

Intensity and Phase Modulation of Laser Beams and Photon Count Distributions.

John D. Kuppenheimer

•Jan 1, 1970•0 citations
The first explicit experimental verification is given of Mandel's formula relating the photon-counting distribution of a radiation field to its intensity fluctuations. This was done by measuring the counting distributions obtained from a He-Ne gas-laser beam having superimposed square- and sine-wave modulations of various depths and frequencies.
Statistical properties such as the cumulants, and the central, factorial, and ordinary moments are obtained for photocounting distributions when the incident radiation is intensity-modulated with arbitrary statistics. The results are applied in some detail to the cases of triangular, sinusoidal, and square-wave modulation of multimode superposed coherent and chaotic radiation. The coefficient of variation, skewness, and kurtosis are obtained as a function of modulation depth. Comparison is made with experimental data in the cases of triangular and sinusoidal modulation of a laser source.
It is well known that photoelectric measurements yield information about the statistical behavior of fluctuating light beams. The probability of n photoelectrons being ejected, in a fixed time interval, from the photosensitive surface of the photoelectric detector, upon which the light beam is normally incident, is a linear (Poisson) transform of the probability density for the intensity of the beam. With the help of some plausible assumptions, the present analysis provides solutions to the problem of inverting the Poisson transform, thus determining the probability density for the intensity from experimentally obtained photocounting distributions. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated by an actual inversion of a typical experimental counting distribution. The technique is of particular interest in connection with efforts to understand the statistical behavior of optical fields, especially of laser fields.
Theoretical expressions for the factorial moments of the triggered photon-counting distribution that corresponds to a light beam with a periodically modulated intensity are derived. Two triggering procedures are considered: the time-window triggering procedure (which has been experimentally checked for Gaussian light by other authors) and the first-photopulse triggering procedure (which is a faster procedure). The theoretical expressions that correspond to the latter procedure are experimentally checked in this paper by using a square-wave signal. The errors involved in the analysis of the information contained in the light beam, when this information is obtained from the measurement of the first-order factorial moment, are studied.
We report a series of optical experiments that verify the theoretical photocounting distributions obtained by Diament and Teich for triangularly and sinusoidally modulated laser radiation. Another series of experiments validates the (nonparalyzable) dead-time-modified versions of these formulas obtained by Cantor and Teich. A new expression is obtained for the counting distribution in the presence of modulation and paralyzable dead time. The results have application in photon counting, nuclear counting, and neural counting.
Statistics of fluorescence photons emitted by a single two-level atom interacting with a continuous wave laser field are analyzed. The photon-counting distribution is calculated for the so-called intermediate fluorescence photons, i.e., those counted during the time interval between instants at which photons are emitted. The result is a sub-Poissonian (narrower than Poisson) distribution, which agrees with experimental observations. This intermediate-photon distribution is used to calculate the average number of fluorescence photons, the second factorial moment of the photon-counting distribution, and Mandel’s Q parameter commonly used to evaluate the deviation of photon statistics from the Poisson distribution. The theoretical expressions obtained for moments of the intermediate-photon distribution are different from well-known Mandel’s formulas.