Advances in the Study of Two-photon Interferometry: From Turbulence-free Interferometers to X-ray Ghost Microscopes

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dc.contributor.advisorShih, Yanhua
dc.contributor.authorSmith, Thomas Allen
dc.contributor.departmentPhysics
dc.contributor.programPhysics
dc.date.accessioned2022-02-09T15:52:57Z
dc.date.available2022-02-09T15:52:57Z
dc.date.issued2020-01-01
dc.description.abstractTwo-photon interference present in thermal light has been applied to various interferometers and imaging techniques. Differing from more traditional optical setups that use the measurement of intensity to observe single-photon interference, two-photon interference is observed through optical correlation measurements between a pair of detectors. This dissertations presents recent work in developing two separate applications of two-photon interference: turbulence-free interferometers and X-ray ghost microscopes. Inspired by the original Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometer, which is insensitive to optical turbulence, the turbulence-free interferometers discussed here achieve path overlap of the two-photon amplitudes, resulting in the cancellation of the contributions of turbulence, i.e. turbulence-free. This mechanism is demonstrated here in the form of the two-photon double-slit interferometer and then proposed in a new type of turbulence-free, two-photon optical beats interferometer that will likely have practical applications such as turbulence-free gravitational-wave detection. Alongside the development of two-photon interferometers, two-photon, lensless ghost imaging has been developed. The lensless nature of the technique has made X-ray ghost imaging an intriguing possibility. Due to the ineffectiveness of traditional lenses on X rays, most X-ray imaging is projection-based. Unlike true, diffraction-limited point-to-point imaging (such as imaging with a lens), projection-based imaging is more comparable to the formation of a shadow. While still extremely useful, this type of imaging lacks the full resolving power one might expect with high-energy (short-wavelength) X rays. Presented here is the theory behind potential nanometer resolution in the form of diffraction-limited point-to-point imaging achievable with X-ray ghost imaging; namely, the X-ray ghost microscope. These contributions to the field of quantum optics provide an intriguing look into the fundamental nature of light and will allow for nontraditional, practical applications.
dc.formatapplication:pdf
dc.genredissertations
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/m22wf3-u64s
dc.identifier.other12359
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/24220
dc.languageen
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Physics Department Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Theses and Dissertations Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Graduate School Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Student Collection
dc.sourceOriginal File Name: Smith_umbc_0434D_12359.pdf
dc.subjectGhost imaging
dc.subjectInterferometry
dc.subjectOptical turbulence
dc.subjectQuantum optics
dc.subjectX-ray imaging
dc.titleAdvances in the Study of Two-photon Interferometry: From Turbulence-free Interferometers to X-ray Ghost Microscopes
dc.typeText
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