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Journal of the Optical Society of America A

Onefold photoelectron-counting statistics of mixtures of thermal and coherent radiation

Richard G. Barakat

Published Apr 1, 1985• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We consider onefold photoelectron-counting statistics, for arbitrary counting times, when the wave field on the detector is a mixture of thermal light of a specified spectral profile (incoherent component) and a harmonic signal (coherent component). The probability density function of the time-integrated intensity W(Ω) is obtained from the inverse Laplace transform of the moment-generating function by the Dubner–Abate algorithm. The corresponding probability distribution of the detected photoelectrons, P(m), is then evaluated directly by numerical integration of W(Ω). Numerical results for W(Ω) and P(m) have been obtained when the thermal line shape is Lorentzian for both the homodyne situation (coherent line coincides with the mean frequency of the thermal spectral profile) and the heterodyne situation (coherent line is now off center with respect to the mean frequency of the thermal spectral profile).

DOI
10.1364/josaa.2.000539

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We consider onefold photoelectron-counting statistics, for arbitrary counting times, when the wave field on the detector is a mixture of thermal light of a specified spectral profile (incoherent component) and a harmonic signal (coherent component). The probability density function of the time-integrated intensity W(Ω) is obtained from the inverse Laplace transform of the moment-generating function by the Dubner–Abate algorithm. The corresponding probability distribution of the detected photoelectrons, P(m), is then evaluated directly by numerical integration of W(Ω). Numerical results for W(Ω) and P(m) have been obtained when the thermal line shape is Lorentzian for both the homodyne situation (coherent line coincides with the mean frequency of the thermal spectral profile) and the heterodyne situation (coherent line is now off center with respect to the mean frequency of the thermal spectral profile).
In this paper, we consider the photoelectron counting distribution when the wave field incident on the detector is a mixture of harmonic signal and thermal noise. An expression for the factorial moment-generating function of the number of counts is obtained in terms of the eigenvalues of an associated integral equation. This expression is then used to evaluate the factorial cumulants of the number of counts. The results are valid for an arbitrary counting interval. The extension to photoelectron counting with several detectors is considered in paper II of the present investigation.
Onefold photoelectron counting distributions are evaluated for coherent light scattered by an ensemble of particles. The ensemble contains, in general, a random number of nonidentical particles. Expressions are obtained for the probability density function and the moments of the scattering intensity. These results reduce to those of Pusey, Schaefer, and Koppel when the particles are identical. Photocount probabilities are also evaluated. The variance, coefficient of skewness, and coefficient of excess are evaluated when the probability density of the intensity contributed by each scatterer is specified by a narrow Gaussian distribution centered about the deterministic mean.
We consider the photocount statistics of a field formed by superposition of a coherent signal of an arbitrary form, and the Brownian noise (Ornstein--Uhlenbeck process). We obtain an analytical expression for the generating function of photocounts. In the case of a harmonic coherent signal, we analyze the count statistics of the superposed field as a function of the shift of the carrier frequency of the harmonic signal relative to the maximum of the Lorentz spectral contour, as a function of the partial intensity components of the superposed radiation, and also as a function of the product of the duration of photodetection and the spectral line width of the noise. I. The aim of the present work is to derive and study a formula for the probability of counts under the assumption that the photodetector registers an optical field formed by the superposition of a coherent signal and Brownian noise. This problem is of interest in the study of the count distribution in a detector which absorbs a mixture of coherent and incoherent radiation [i]. In the derivation of the formula for the probability density of the number of counts, one encounters specific mathematical difficulties associated with the fact that the photodetection process is extended in time. The probability P(m, T) that, during a time interval T, m photoelectrons are detected when the superposition of a coherent signal B(t) and noise ~(t) falls on the detector, is given by the Mandel formula [2]
Two-fold photoelectron counting statistics are studied for quasimonochromatic light of arbitrary spectral profile. A numerical scheme is developed for the evaluation of the double generating function from which the joint probabilities, the photoelectron correlation function, and the clipped photoelectron correlation function can be evaluated. The time need not be short compared to the coherence time as in previous studies. Numerical results are presented for the photoelectron correlation function and for the clipped correlation function for the spectrum which would be observed in a Brillouin scattering experiment.
For a mixture of an arbitrary number of sinusoidal coherent components and chaotic light with a rational spectral density having simple poles, the probability-generating function h(z) of the number of photoelectrons ejected by the light in an interval is expressed in terms of certain finite determinants. It figures in the integrands of contour integrals in the complex plane for the cumulative and complementary cumulative distributions of the number of photoelectron counts. When these are evaluated by numerical integration, h(z) can be computed at each point on the contour by standard computer routines for solving algebraic equations and evaluating determinants, permitting precise and efficient computation of the photocount distributions.