Spatial anti-bunching correlation in random light fields

• Published in: Optics express 2024-12, Vol.32 (27), p.49106
• Main Authors: Yu, Shao-wen, Zhang, Yang, Fu, Gang-kun, Zhang, Yi-han, Zhong, Jia-min, Huang, Yu-xiang, Chen, Jun
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1094-4087; 1094-4087
• DOI: 10.1364/OE.544539

Spatial anti-bunching, in contrast to the well-known bunching behavior observed in classical light sources, describes a situation where photons tend to avoid each other in space, resulting in a reduced probability of detecting two or more photons in proximity. This anti-bunching effect, a hallmark of nonclassical light, signifies a deviation from classical intensity fluctuations and has been observed not only in free electrons and entangled photon pairs but also in chaotic-thermal light. This work investigates the generation mechanism of spatial anti-bunching correlation in random light fields, leveraging the wandering of light centers to induce a second-order coherence degree below unity. Unlike traditional Gaussian Schell-model partially coherent light, this work predicts the emergence of two fundamentally distinct orbital angular momentum states, arising from the inherent differences between rigid body rotation and fluid-like rotation in the wandering light. These predictions are supported by experimental evidence. Based on these findings, we propose a resolution-enhanced lensless ghost imaging system as an application example. Experimental results indicate that the adoption of the anti-bunching correlated light field as the illumination source enables the imaging system to attain super-resolution imaging capabilities. Our findings provide new insights into the utilization of anti-correlated light fields for precision imaging and detection applications.