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Laser & Photonics Review

Random Holography: Generating EPR‐Like Correlation with Thermal Photons

Zhiyuan Ye, Wanting Hou, Chen‐Xin Ding, Xue‐Jiao Men, Ruiqing He, Jilun Zhao, Haibo Wang, Jun Xiong, Kaige Wang

Published Dec 18, 2024• 13 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Abstract Entanglement and correlation of photons play a central role in quantum information and communication. There are two types of photon correlations: one usually exists in a two‐particle entangled state first conceived by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) in 1935, while the other occurs in a thermal light source found by Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) in 1956. Many studies are concerned with the physical nature and differences behind the two types of photon correlations. Here, a holography‐inspired linear optical system that generates a pair of conjugate chaotic beams is proposed, which include both HBT‐type and EPR‐like correlations. From principle to experimental generation, the study presents a classical paradigm of a simple bi‐correlation light source for diverse quantum‐mimic applications such as two‐photon imaging.

DOI
10.1002/lpor.202401610

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Abstract Entanglement and correlation of photons play a central role in quantum information and communication. There are two types of photon correlations: one usually exists in a two‐particle entangled state first conceived by Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen (EPR) in 1935, while the other occurs in a thermal light source found by Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) in 1956. Many studies are concerned with the physical nature and differences behind the two types of photon correlations. Here, a holography‐inspired linear optical system that generates a pair of conjugate chaotic beams is proposed, which include both HBT‐type and EPR‐like correlations. From principle to experimental generation, the study presents a classical paradigm of a simple bi‐correlation light source for diverse quantum‐mimic applications such as two‐photon imaging.
Two landmark photon correlation effects, the Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen (EPR) correlation in a quantum entangled source and the Hanbury-Brown-Twiss (HBT) correlation in a thermal light source, have long attracted great attention from the physics community. Here, we report the experimental generation of an all-purpose photon-correlation source called holographic thermal light, including both HBT-type and EPR-like correlations, with thermal photons over a wide spectral range (from UV to IR) and a typical polarization combination. All two-photon correlations are established in the framework of linear optics. Interestingly, the topological structures of the diffraction patterns of the sources are very similar to those in type-I and type-II spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) processes. Holographic thermal light with multiple degrees of freedom will establish a quantum-inspired, high-brightness, low-cost classical demonstration platform capable of facilitating various quantum imaging applications at the single-photon level.
The observation of the Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) effect with thermal light marked the birth of quantum optics. All the thermal sources considered to date did not feature quantum signatures of light, as they consisted of independent emitters that emit uncorrelated photons. Here, we propose and demonstrate an incoherent light source based on phase-randomized spatially entangled photons, which we coin thermal biphotons. We show that in contrast to thermal light, the width of the HBT peak for thermal biphotons is determined by their correlations, leading to violation of the Siegert relation and breakdown of the speckle-fluctuations interpretation. We further provide an alternative interpretation of the results by drawing a connection between the HBT effect and coherent backscattering of light. Finally, we discuss the role of spatial entanglement in the observed results, deriving a relation between the Schmidt number and the degree of violation of the Siegert relation under the double-Gaussian approximation of spontaneous parametric down conversion. Our work reflects new insights on the coherence properties of thermal light in the presence of entanglement, paving the way for entanglement certification using disorder averaged measurements.
We present a quantum two-photon interference approach to two-photon correlation phenomena of chaotic light, including the historical experiment of Hanbury Brown and Twiss. We argue against the interpretation of such phenomena in terms of a classical statistical correlation between intensity fluctuations. To support our view, we show a ‘ghost’ imaging experiment with chaotic light for which the classical understanding does not give a satisfactory interpretation. We also provide a two-photon optical picture of ghost imaging with chaotic light in terms of two-photon phase-conjugate mirrors which is very advantageous because it yields lensless two-photon imaging, suggesting imaging applications for radiations for which no effective lens is available.
Two-photon correlation phenomena of chaotic light, including the historical Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect, are essentially the quantum effect of two-photon interference, instead of the classical statistical correlation between intensity fluctuations. To support our view, we analyze a "ghost" imaging experiment with chaotic light for which the classical understanding does not give a satisfactory interpretation. We also provide a two-photon optical picture of ghost imaging with chaotic light in terms of a two-photon phase-conjugate mirror, which suggests lensless imaging applications for radiations for which no effective lens is available.
Two-photon correlation phenomena, including the historical experiment of Hanbury Brown and Twiss, may have to be described quantum mechanically, regardless of whether the source of radiation is classical or quantum. Supporting this point, we present a ghost imaging type of second-order spatial correlation experiment of chaotic light to show that the classical understanding based on the concept of statistical intensity fluctuations does not give a correct interpretation for the observation. From a practical point of view, this experiment demonstrates the possibility of having high contrast lensless two-photon imaging with chaotic light, suggesting imaging applications for radiations for which no effective lens is available.
Two-photon correlation phenomena of chaotic light, including the historical Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect, are essentially quantum effect of two-photon interference, instead of classical statistical correlation between intensity fluctuations. To support our view, we analyze a "ghost" imaging experiment with chaotic light for which the classical understanding does not give a satisfactory interpretation. We also provide a two-photon optical picture of ghost imaging with chaotic light in terms of two-photon phase-conjugate mirror which suggests lensless imaging applications for radiations for which no effective lens is available.