Determining the Lower Limit of Human Vision Using a Single-Photon Source

Holmes, Rebecca M.; Christensen, Barbara L.; Street, Whitney; Alford, Cory; Wang, R. Frances; Kwiat, Paul G.

doi:10.1364/qim.2014.qtu2a.2

Research in Optical Sciences 2014

DOI: 10.1364/qim.2014.qtu2a.2

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Determining the Lower Limit of Human Vision Using a Single-Photon Source

Rebecca M. Holmes

Barbara L. Christensen

Whitney Street

et al.

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Cited by 2 publications

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“…Landmark experiments by Hecht and colleagues in the 1940s established that dark-adapted human subjects are capable of reporting light signals as low as a few photons (∼5–7) 1 . However, whether evolutionary pressure has pushed the visual system and the post-processing performed by the retina and brain to detect a single photon has remained an open question 1 2 3 4 5 6 . The answer to this question is of fundamental significance as it could provide insights into the mechanisms underlying the limits of evolutionary optimization, as well as open up fundamentally new avenues for probing retina-signalling pathways using quantum states of light 7 8 9 .…”

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confidence: 99%

Direct detection of a single photon by humans

et al. 2016

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Despite investigations for over 70 years, the absolute limits of human vision have remained unclear. Rod cells respond to individual photons, yet whether a single-photon incident on the eye can be perceived by a human subject has remained a fundamental open question. Here we report that humans can detect a single-photon incident on the cornea with a probability significantly above chance. This was achieved by implementing a combination of a psychophysics procedure with a quantum light source that can generate single-photon states of light. We further discover that the probability of reporting a single photon is modulated by the presence of an earlier photon, suggesting a priming process that temporarily enhances the effective gain of the visual system on the timescale of seconds.

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Direct detection of a single photon by humans

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“…It was theoretically proposed to use such pulses for characterization of individual stages of the phototransduction [2], visual detection of quantum entanglement [3,4], and precise determination of the visual threshold [2,13].…”

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Interaction of Fixed Number of Photons with Retinal Rod Cells

et al. 2014

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New tools and approaches of quantum optics offer a unique opportunity to generate light pulses carrying a precise number of photons. Accurate control over the light pulses helps to improve the characterization of photo-induced processes. Here, we interface a specialized light source which provides flashes containing just one photon, with retinal rod cells of Xenopus laevis toads. We provide unambiguous proof of single photon sensitivity of rod cells without relying on the statistical modeling. We determined their quantum efficiencies without the use of any pre-calibrated detectors, and obtained the value of (29±4.7)%. Our approach provides the path for future studies and applications of quantum properties of light in phototransduction, vision, and photosynthesis.Ability to control light at a quantum level can be extremely useful in addressing biological problems. Interfacing biological objects with non-classical (quantum) light allows to enhance the precision of biological measurements [1], fosters development of more precise models of biological processes [2], and allows to reveal possible role of quantum effects in neurobiology [3,4] and perception [5,6].

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Determining the Lower Limit of Human Vision Using a Single-Photon Source

Cited by 2 publications

References 7 publications

Direct detection of a single photon by humans

Direct detection of a single photon by humans

Interaction of Fixed Number of Photons with Retinal Rod Cells

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