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

Europhysics Letters (EPL)

Observation of interference pattern in the intensity correlation of a non-local object using a Hanbury Brown and Twiss-type experiment

Itamar Vidal, D. P. Caetano, E. J. S. Fonseca, J. Miguel Hickmann

Published Apr 22, 2008• 9 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We report on the experimental observation of interference pattern of a distributed double-slit, consisting of a single-slit and a wire spatially separated, illuminated by two beams from a pseudothermal light source, in Hanbury Brown and Twiss–like configuration. The interference pattern is obtained performing a classical correlation with the intensities of the light beams scattered by each part of the double-slit. A theoretical analysis confirms our experimental results, showing that classical correlations can also mimic non-local properties analogue to those using twin photons for quantum images.

DOI
10.1209/0295-5075/82/34004

Related papers

The Hanbury Brown and Twiss Interferometer applied to problems of measures of degree of polarization, and interference image ghost and classical and quantum aspects

Itamar Vidal Silva de Lima

In this thesis we investigate, experimentally and theoretically, many classical and quantum coherence effects of the light. Initially we investigate the interference patterns formation by nonlocal double slit using classical light sources and comparing the results with those using a twin photos light source generated by Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion (SPDC). We demonstrate that the classical correlation in wave vectors, in beam splitter outs, is a sufficient condition to the interference pattern to exist. In this work we also investigate experimentally the influence of polarized nonlocal double slit and local double slit. Here is present a alternative Fano based interpretation to explain the reason why the polarization of correlated beam has not influence on pattern fringes. We presented also an investigation about the light source parameters influence on the ghost interference interference. We demonstrate experimentally the relationship between, the coherence and source size, and fringes visibility. We extended the concept of complementarity related to coherence and correlation using the changes of the reference beam coherence and observing it’s influence on the interference patterns of the local double slit. In near-field limit, we investigate the existence of conditionality in the wave vector limited by the aperture of objects placed on the classically correlated beams paths. We demonstrate that is possible to find conditionality between the light emitted through the slits apertures. All these experiments performed using the Brown Twiss intensity interferometer (HBT) served to investigate the difference between the transversal effects with quantum and classical incoherent light. Finally, we demonstrate the first experimental measurement demonstrating the polarization changes on the partially coherent light propagation induced by the coherence source changes. This phenomenom was investigated for the free space propagation and for a nonlinear medium modeled by a Kerr medium.

•May 21, 2010•0 citations

Multi-Photon Interferences of Independent Light Sources

Steffen Oppel

In this thesis we discuss an extension of the historical Hanbury Brown and Twiss experiment and investigate spatial intensity correlations of higher-orders in the radiation field of statistically independent light sources. The light sources can be non-classical like single-photon emitters or classical, obeying thermal or coherent statistics. Although the light sources are assumed to emit the photons in an incoherent manner, we find spatial photon correlations in the far field which can be explained by the quantum mechanical concept of multi-photon interferences. We demonstrate that spatial correlation measurements between indistinguishable photons based on linear optical detection techniques can be used to overcome the resolution limit of classical optics (Abbe/Rayleigh limit) and also to manipulate the spatial radiation characteristic of the light sources. Both remarkable properties of higher-order intensity correlations have been experimentally verified using statistically independent pseudothermal light sources. Due to the fact that the reported correlation measurements require neither special quantum tailoring of light nor N-photon absorbing media, they are of particular interest for the field of quantum imaging and quantum information processing. The thesis is divided into three main parts: In the first part (Chapter 2 and 3) we introduce a quantum path formalism which allows to describe multi-photon interferences arising in both classical and nonclassical light fields. This quantum path approach explains the origin of the underlying interference mechanism of the higher-order spatial intensity correlation functions in a transparent and simple manner. Moreover, it enables us to compare the multi-photon interferences obtained by nonclassical single-photon emitters with those generated by classical light sources. In the course of this discussion it appears that Dirac's famous statement “Each photon interferes only with itself. Interference between two different photons never occurs.” should better read “A multi-photon state of independent photons only interferes with itself. Interference between different multi-photon states never occurs.” This general statement summarizes the physics behind all multi-photon interference phenomena investigated in this thesis. In the second part of the thesis (Chapter 4) we investigate particular multi-photon interference measurements of independent light sources in the context of quantum imaging. We demonstrate that the Nth-order spatial intensity correlation functions display at specific ‘magic’ detector positions the ability to filter sub-wavelength information out of the light fields arising from N incoherently radiating light sources. These multi-photon interference patterns achieve a higher resolution for N>2 than the classical Abbe/Rayleigh limit for imaging the light source. In case of N single-photon emitters we theoretically show that the super-resolving interference patterns obtained for the ‘magic’ detector positions are identical to the ones generated by NOON states with N-1 photons. Quite unexpected, the same is true for N thermal light sources, except for a reduced visibility. Experimental results with up to eight independent thermal light sources confirm this approach to improve the spatial resolution in imaging. In the last part of this thesis (Chapter 5) we finally demonstrate that multi-photon detections can lead to a strong angular focussing of incoherent photons emitted again by either uncorrelated single-photon sources or statistically independent classical light sources. For this effect the sources can be far away from each other and do not interact. The mth-order intensity correlation measurement causes source correlations which produce a heralded peaked emission pattern for the initially uncorrelated light sources. In particular, we show that if m-1 photons have been detected in a particular direction, the conditional probability to detect the mth photon in the same direction can be as high as 100 %. Owing to the great flexibility of detector positions for the correlation measurement, a wide variety of additional detection schemes exists which produces similar directional photon emission patterns. This theoretically predicted measurement-induced focussing was experimentally confirmed with up to eight pseudothermal light sources for three particular detection schemes.

•Jan 1, 2012•0 citations

Nonlocal Double-Slit Interference with Pseudothermal Light

Lu Gao, Jun Xiong, Lu-Fang Lin +3 more

We perform a nonlocal double-slit interference experiment with pseudothermal light. The experimental result exhibits a typical double-slit interference fringe in the intensity correlation measurement, in agreement with the theoretical analysis by means of the property of the second-order spatial correlation of field.

arXiv:0705.1745•May 12, 2007•0 citations

Interference from a nonlocal double-slit through one-photon process

Shu Gan, Su-Heng Zhang, Jun Xiong +1 more

In this paper, we report an interference experiment in which a spatially incoherent light source illuminates two spatially separated apertures, whose superposition at the same place forms a double-slit. The experimental result exhibits a well-defined interference fringe solely through intensity measurements, in agreement with the theoretical analysis by means of the first-order spatial interference of the incoherent light. Consequently, the nonlocal double-slit interference with thermal light should be attributed to the first-order spatial correlation of incoherent field.

Optics Express•Dec 10, 2009•2 citations

High-visibility multiphoton interference of Hanbury Brown–Twiss type for classical light

I. N. Agafonov, Maria V. Chekhova, T. Sh. Iskhakov +1 more

Difference-phase (or Hanbury Brown--Twiss type) intensity interference of classical light is considered in higher orders in the intensity. It is shown that, while the visibility of sum-phase (NOON-type) interference for classical sources drops with the order of interference, the visibility of difference-phase interference has opposite behavior. For three-photon and four-photon interference of two coherent sources, the visibility can be as high as 81.8% and 94.4%, respectively. High-visibility three-photon and four-photon interference of space-time and polarization types has been observed in experiment, for both coherent and pseudothermal light.

arXiv:0801.0881•Physical Review A•May 5, 2008•77 citations

Observation of complementarity in the macroscopic domain

De-Zhong Cao, Jun Xiong, Hua Tang +3 more

Complementarity is usually considered as a phenomenon of microscopic systems. In this paper, we report an experimental observation of complementarity in correlated double-slit interference with a pseudothermal light source. The thermal light beam is divided into test and reference beams which are correlated with each other. The double slit is set in the test arm, and an interference pattern can be observed in the intensity correlation between the two arms. The experimental results show that the disappearance of the interference fringe depends on whether which-path information is gained through the reference arm. The experiment therefore shows complementarity occurring in the macroscopic domain.

Physical Review A•Sep 10, 2007•10 citations
We report on the experimental observation of interference pattern of a distributed double-slit, consisting of a single-slit and a wire spatially separated, illuminated by two beams from a pseudothermal light source, in Hanbury Brown and Twiss–like configuration. The interference pattern is obtained performing a classical correlation with the intensities of the light beams scattered by each part of the double-slit. A theoretical analysis confirms our experimental results, showing that classical correlations can also mimic non-local properties analogue to those using twin photons for quantum images.
In this thesis we investigate, experimentally and theoretically, many classical and quantum coherence effects of the light. Initially we investigate the interference patterns formation by nonlocal double slit using classical light sources and comparing the results with those using a twin photos light source generated by Spontaneous Parametric Down Conversion (SPDC). We demonstrate that the classical correlation in wave vectors, in beam splitter outs, is a sufficient condition to the interference pattern to exist. In this work we also investigate experimentally the influence of polarized nonlocal double slit and local double slit. Here is present a alternative Fano based interpretation to explain the reason why the polarization of correlated beam has not influence on pattern fringes. We presented also an investigation about the light source parameters influence on the ghost interference interference. We demonstrate experimentally the relationship between, the coherence and source size, and fringes visibility. We extended the concept of complementarity related to coherence and correlation using the changes of the reference beam coherence and observing it’s influence on the interference patterns of the local double slit. In near-field limit, we investigate the existence of conditionality in the wave vector limited by the aperture of objects placed on the classically correlated beams paths. We demonstrate that is possible to find conditionality between the light emitted through the slits apertures. All these experiments performed using the Brown Twiss intensity interferometer (HBT) served to investigate the difference between the transversal effects with quantum and classical incoherent light. Finally, we demonstrate the first experimental measurement demonstrating the polarization changes on the partially coherent light propagation induced by the coherence source changes. This phenomenom was investigated for the free space propagation and for a nonlinear medium modeled by a Kerr medium.
In this thesis we discuss an extension of the historical Hanbury Brown and Twiss experiment and investigate spatial intensity correlations of higher-orders in the radiation field of statistically independent light sources. The light sources can be non-classical like single-photon emitters or classical, obeying thermal or coherent statistics. Although the light sources are assumed to emit the photons in an incoherent manner, we find spatial photon correlations in the far field which can be explained by the quantum mechanical concept of multi-photon interferences. We demonstrate that spatial correlation measurements between indistinguishable photons based on linear optical detection techniques can be used to overcome the resolution limit of classical optics (Abbe/Rayleigh limit) and also to manipulate the spatial radiation characteristic of the light sources. Both remarkable properties of higher-order intensity correlations have been experimentally verified using statistically independent pseudothermal light sources. Due to the fact that the reported correlation measurements require neither special quantum tailoring of light nor N-photon absorbing media, they are of particular interest for the field of quantum imaging and quantum information processing. The thesis is divided into three main parts: In the first part (Chapter 2 and 3) we introduce a quantum path formalism which allows to describe multi-photon interferences arising in both classical and nonclassical light fields. This quantum path approach explains the origin of the underlying interference mechanism of the higher-order spatial intensity correlation functions in a transparent and simple manner. Moreover, it enables us to compare the multi-photon interferences obtained by nonclassical single-photon emitters with those generated by classical light sources. In the course of this discussion it appears that Dirac's famous statement “Each photon interferes only with itself. Interference between two different photons never occurs.” should better read “A multi-photon state of independent photons only interferes with itself. Interference between different multi-photon states never occurs.” This general statement summarizes the physics behind all multi-photon interference phenomena investigated in this thesis. In the second part of the thesis (Chapter 4) we investigate particular multi-photon interference measurements of independent light sources in the context of quantum imaging. We demonstrate that the Nth-order spatial intensity correlation functions display at specific ‘magic’ detector positions the ability to filter sub-wavelength information out of the light fields arising from N incoherently radiating light sources. These multi-photon interference patterns achieve a higher resolution for N>2 than the classical Abbe/Rayleigh limit for imaging the light source. In case of N single-photon emitters we theoretically show that the super-resolving interference patterns obtained for the ‘magic’ detector positions are identical to the ones generated by NOON states with N-1 photons. Quite unexpected, the same is true for N thermal light sources, except for a reduced visibility. Experimental results with up to eight independent thermal light sources confirm this approach to improve the spatial resolution in imaging. In the last part of this thesis (Chapter 5) we finally demonstrate that multi-photon detections can lead to a strong angular focussing of incoherent photons emitted again by either uncorrelated single-photon sources or statistically independent classical light sources. For this effect the sources can be far away from each other and do not interact. The mth-order intensity correlation measurement causes source correlations which produce a heralded peaked emission pattern for the initially uncorrelated light sources. In particular, we show that if m-1 photons have been detected in a particular direction, the conditional probability to detect the mth photon in the same direction can be as high as 100 %. Owing to the great flexibility of detector positions for the correlation measurement, a wide variety of additional detection schemes exists which produces similar directional photon emission patterns. This theoretically predicted measurement-induced focussing was experimentally confirmed with up to eight pseudothermal light sources for three particular detection schemes.
In this paper, we report an interference experiment in which a spatially incoherent light source illuminates two spatially separated apertures, whose superposition at the same place forms a double-slit. The experimental result exhibits a well-defined interference fringe solely through intensity measurements, in agreement with the theoretical analysis by means of the first-order spatial interference of the incoherent light. Consequently, the nonlocal double-slit interference with thermal light should be attributed to the first-order spatial correlation of incoherent field.
Difference-phase (or Hanbury Brown--Twiss type) intensity interference of classical light is considered in higher orders in the intensity. It is shown that, while the visibility of sum-phase (NOON-type) interference for classical sources drops with the order of interference, the visibility of difference-phase interference has opposite behavior. For three-photon and four-photon interference of two coherent sources, the visibility can be as high as 81.8% and 94.4%, respectively. High-visibility three-photon and four-photon interference of space-time and polarization types has been observed in experiment, for both coherent and pseudothermal light.
Complementarity is usually considered as a phenomenon of microscopic systems. In this paper, we report an experimental observation of complementarity in correlated double-slit interference with a pseudothermal light source. The thermal light beam is divided into test and reference beams which are correlated with each other. The double slit is set in the test arm, and an interference pattern can be observed in the intensity correlation between the two arms. The experimental results show that the disappearance of the interference fringe depends on whether which-path information is gained through the reference arm. The experiment therefore shows complementarity occurring in the macroscopic domain.