Reconstruction of the nonstationary optical picture from two-photon correlations, and stellar interferometry

Hideya Gamō

P. Hariharan

Chenyu W Hu, Ben Wang, Jiandong Zhang +4 more

Resolving high-contrast targets is a fundamental, yet highly challenging, task in astronomy. Using quantum estimation theory, we demonstrate that the ultimate limit for estimating the separation between two unequal-brightness thermal sources via interferometry remains constant, enabling the potential for superresolution. We give a comparative analysis of two primary stellar interferometric schemes: amplitude interferometry and intensity interferometry. Notably, the nulling strategy employed in amplitude interferometry, a configuration specifically proposed for exoplanet detection by leveraging destructive interference to suppress the brighter source, is quantum optimal for separation estimation. While intensity interferometry is less effective than amplitude interferometry in lossless scenarios and fails to achieve superresolution, it becomes competitive when optical loss in large-scale interferometry is considered. By applying these methodologies to modern stellar interferometry, we highlight the promise of large-scale interferometry for advancing high-resolution astronomical observation.

Francois B. Hénault, Alain Spang

We describe a variant of the classical Young's double slit experiment that can be easily realized in any classroom, in order to evidence the wave nature of light. The proposed apparatus and its simplified theory are described and pictures of fringes, readily obtained using only cheap and off-the-shelf optical components, are reproduced. The apparatus may also be used to explain the principles of holography, stellar interferometry or diffuse surface measurement techniques.

Ricardo Asch Campos

Marlan O. Scully, Muhammad Suhail Zubairy

Optical interferometry was at the heart of the revolution which ushered in the new era of twentieth century physics. For example, the Michelson interferometer was used to show that there is no detectable motion relative to the ‘ether’; a key experiment in support of special relativity. It is a wonderful tribute to Michelson that the same interferometer concept is central to the gravity-wave detectors which promise to provide new insights into general relativity and astrophysics in the twenty-first century. Similar tales can be told about the Sagnac and Mach–Zehnder interferometers as discussed in this chapter. We further note that the intensity correlation stellar interferometer of Hanbury- Brown and Twiss was a driving force in ushering in the modern era of quantum optics. We are thus motivated to develop the theory of field (amplitude) and photon (intensity) correlation interferometry. In doing so we will find that the subject provides us with an exquisite probe of the micro and macrocosmos, i.e., quantum mechanics and general relativity. With these thoughts in mind we here develop a framework to study the quantum statistical correlations of light. We will motivate the quantum correlation functions of the field operators from the standpoint of photodetection theory. Many experimentally observed quantities, such as photoelectron statistics and the spectral distribution of the field, can be related to the appropriate field correlation functions. These correlation functions are essential in the description of Young's double-slit experiment and the notion of the power spectrum of light.