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Interferometry with few photons
Quantum Physics · Submitted 20 Feb 2024
abstract compiled · 2026-09-23 · no language-model review
The authors' main claim For two cases of interest: a spatial qudit encoding phase, consisting of d = 6 uniform phase regions, and a more general continuous phase, we see that reducing the readout noise leads to a clear improvement in the quality of reconstruction.
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The abstract, sentence by sentence
Optical phase determination is an important and established tool in diverse fields such as astronomy, biology, or quantum optics. There is increasing interest in using a lower number of total photons. However, different noise sources, such as electronic readout noise in the detector, and shot noise, hamper the phase estimation in regimes of very low illumination. Here we report a study on how the quality of phase determination is affected by these two sources of noise. To that end, we experimentally reconstruct different wavefronts by means of a point diffraction interferometer for different mean intensities of illumination, up to $15\ \mathrm{phot/px}$. Our interferometer features a Skipper-CCD sensor, which allows us to reduce the readout noise arbitrarily, thus enabling us to separate the effect of these two sources of noise. For two cases of interest: a spatial qudit encoding phase, consisting of d = 6 uniform phase regions, and a more general continuous phase, we see that reducing the readout noise leads to a clear improvement in the quality of reconstruction. This can be explained by a simple noise model that allows us to predict the expected fidelity of reconstruction and shows excellent agreement with the measurements.
background contribution method result interpretation main claim
| # | sentence | role | the authors' own work | states the main conclusion | strength |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| s0 | Optical phase determination is an important and established tool in diverse fields such as astronomy, biology, or quantum optics. | background 1.00 | 0.03 | 0.02 | asserted 1.00 |
| s1 | There is increasing interest in using a lower number of total photons. | background 0.99 | 0.05 | 0.02 | asserted 0.96 |
| s2 | However, different noise sources, such as electronic readout noise in the detector, and shot noise, hamper the phase estimation in regimes of very low illumination. | background 0.86 | 0.06 | 0.02 | asserted 1.00 |
| s3 | Here we report a study on how the quality of phase determination is affected by these two sources of noise. | contribution 1.00 | 0.82 | 0.04 | asserted 0.64 |
| s4 | To that end, we experimentally reconstruct different wavefronts by means of a point diffraction interferometer for different mean intensities of illumination, up to $15\ \mathrm{phot/px}$. | method 0.99 | 0.97 | 0.03 | asserted 0.99 |
| s5 | Our interferometer features a Skipper-CCD sensor, which allows us to reduce the readout noise arbitrarily, thus enabling us to separate the effect of these two sources of noise. | method 0.99 | 0.89 | 0.06 | asserted 1.00 |
| s6 | For two cases of interest: a spatial qudit encoding phase, consisting of d = 6 uniform phase regions, and a more general continuous phase, we see that reducing the readout noise leads to a clear improvement in the quality of reconstruction. | result 1.00 | 0.96 | 0.71 | asserted 1.00 |
| s7 | This can be explained by a simple noise model that allows us to predict the expected fidelity of reconstruction and shows excellent agreement with the measurements. | interpretation 0.90 | 0.93 | 0.26 | asserted 1.00 |
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Original abstract
Optical phase determination is an important and established tool in diverse fields such as astronomy, biology, or quantum optics. There is increasing interest in using a lower number of total photons. However, different noise sources, such as electronic readout noise in the detector, and shot noise, hamper the phase estimation in regimes of very low illumination. Here we report a study on how the quality of phase determination is affected by these two sources of noise. To that end, we experimentally reconstruct different wavefronts by means of a point diffraction interferometer for different mean intensities of illumination, up to $15\ \mathrm{phot/px}$. Our interferometer features a Skipper-CCD sensor, which allows us to reduce the readout noise arbitrarily, thus enabling us to separate the effect of these two sources of noise. For two cases of interest: a spatial qudit encoding phase, consisting of d = 6 uniform phase regions, and a more general continuous phase, we see that reducing the readout noise leads to a clear improvement in the quality of reconstruction. This can be explained by a simple noise model that allows us to predict the expected fidelity of reconstruction and shows excellent agreement with the measurements.
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