A quantitative comparison of amplitude versus intensity interferometry for astronomy

Bojer, Manuel; Huang, Zhipei; Karl, Sebastian; Richter, Stefan; Kok, Pieter; Zanthier, J. von

doi:10.1088/1367-2630/ac5f30

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(220 reference statements)

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“…Recently, there has been a renewed interest in two-photon interferometry (intensity interferometry). 62,63 Compared to those techniques, our method requires phase-stabilisation of the interferometer, but makes use of every photon received. The two-photon methods can achieve a very large baseline without needing an optical link between the system (or phase stabilisation), but suffer from low probability of successful detection events.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum super-resolution imaging and hypothesis testing

Zanforlin¹,

Lupo

Connolly³

et al. 2023

Photonics for Quantum 2023

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Detecting the faint emission of a secondary source in the proximity of the much brighter one has been the most severe obstacle for using direct imaging in searching for exoplanets. Estimating the angular separation between two incoherent thermal sources is a also challenging task for direct imaging. Here, we experimentally demonstrate two tasks for super-resolution imaging based on hypothesis testing, quantum state discrimination and quantum imaging techniques. We show that one can significantly reduce the probability of error for detecting the presence of a weak secondary source (e.g. a planet), especially when the two sources have small angular separations. We reduce the experimental complexity down to a single two-input interferometer: we show that (1) this simple set-up is sufficient for the state discrimination task, and (2) if the two sources are of equal brightness, then this measurement can super-resolve their angular separation, saturating the quantum Cramér-Rao bound. By using a collection baseline of 5.3 mm, we resolve the angular separation of two sources that are placed 15 µm apart at a distance of 1.0 m with an accuracy of 1.7% -this is between 2 to 3 orders of magnitudes more accurate than shot-noise limited direct imaging.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantum super-resolution imaging and hypothesis testing

Zanforlin¹,

Lupo

Connolly³

et al. 2023

Photonics for Quantum 2023

Self Cite

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show abstract

“…Recently, there has been a renewed interest in two-photon interferometry (intensity interferometry) 61,62 . Compared to those techniques, our method requires phase-stabilisation of the interferometer, but makes use of every photon received.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical quantum super-resolution imaging and hypothesis testing

et al. 2022

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Estimating the angular separation between two incoherent thermal sources is a challenging task for direct imaging, especially at lengths within the diffraction limit. Moreover, detecting the presence of multiple sources of different brightness is an even more severe challenge. We experimentally demonstrate two tasks for super-resolution imaging based on hypothesis testing and quantum metrology techniques. We can significantly reduce the error probability for detecting a weak secondary source, even for small separations. We reduce the experimental complexity to a simple interferometer: we show (1) our set-up is optimal for the state discrimination task, and (2) if the two sources are equally bright, then this measurement can super-resolve their angular separation. Using a collection baseline of 5.3 mm, we resolve the angular separation of two sources placed 15 μm apart at a distance of 1.0 m with a 1.7% accuracy - an almost 3-orders-of-magnitude improvement over shot-noise limited direct imaging.

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“…Dravins et al (2013)). This potential increase in the resolution of the interferometer however comes at the cost of reduced sensitivity when compared to amplitude interferometry (Bojer et al 2022). Intensity correlation measurements of starlight were first carried out with telescopes by Hanbury Brown & Twiss (1956), determining the diameter of Sirius to a then unprecedented precision.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Intensity Interferometry at a 0.5 m Telescope

Karl¹,

Richter²,

Zanthier³

2023

Preprint

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Intensity interferometry correlates light intensities rather than amplitudes of individual telescopes to recover the source geometry. While intensity correlations can alleviate the technical challenges of amplitude interferometry, and thus enable the realization of larger baselines and therefore higher resolution in astronomical imaging, this comes at the cost of greatly reduced sensitivity. We report the observation of photon bunching in the light of 𝛼 Lyrae (Vega), measured with a telescope of merely 0.5 m in diameter (Planewave CDK 20). The entire measurement setup, including collimation, optical filtering, and detection, was attached directly to the telescope without the use of optical fibers, facilitated by the large area of our single photon detectors. After a total exposure time of 32.4 h over the course of six nights, a correlation signal with a contrast of (9.5 ± 2.7) × 10 −3 and a coherence time (0.34 ± 0.12) ps was recovered, fitting well to preceding laboratory tests as well as expectations calculated from the optical and electronic characteristics of our measurement setup.

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A quantitative comparison of amplitude versus intensity interferometry for astronomy

Cited by 13 publications

References 78 publications

Quantum super-resolution imaging and hypothesis testing

Quantum super-resolution imaging and hypothesis testing

Optical quantum super-resolution imaging and hypothesis testing

Temporal Intensity Interferometry at a 0.5 m Telescope

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