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arXiv:quant-ph/0408001 · Physical Review Letters

Two-Photon Imaging with Thermal Light

Alejandra Valencia, Giuliano Scarcelli, Milena D’Angelo, Yanhua H. Shih

Published Feb 16, 2005• 842 citations
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Abstract

We report the first experimental demonstration of two-photon imaging with a pseudothermal source. Similarly to the case of entangled states, a two-photon Gaussian thin lens equation is observed, indicating EPR type correlation in position. We introduce the concepts of two-photon coherent and two-photon incoherent imaging. The differences between the entangled and the thermal cases are explained in terms of these concepts.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.94.063601

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We report the first experimental demonstration of two-photon imaging with a pseudothermal source. Similarly to the case of entangled states, a two-photon Gaussian thin lens equation is observed, indicating EPR type correlation in position. We introduce the concepts of two-photon coherent and two-photon incoherent imaging. The differences between the entangled and the thermal cases are explained in terms of these concepts.
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Received March 14, 2005; revised manuscript received May 4, 2005; accepted May 4, 2005 We report what is believed to be the first experimental demonstration of two-photon correlated imaging with true thermal light from a hollow cathode lamp. The coherence time of the source is much shorter than that of previous experiments using random scattered light from a laser. A two-pinhole mask was used as object, and the corresponding thin lens equation was well satisfied. Since thermal light sources are easier to obtain and measure than entangled light, it is conceivable that they may be used in special imaging applications.
Thermal (or pseudothermal) radiation has been recently proposed for imaging and interference types of experiments to simulate entangled states. We report an experimental study on the momentum correlation properties of a pseudothermal field in the photon counting regime. The characterization and understanding of such a light source in the context of two-photon physics, especially its similarities and differences compared to entangled two-photon states, is useful in gaining knowledge of entanglement and may help us to assess the real potential of applications of chaotic light in this context.
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.