Source coding model for repeated snapshot imaging

Imaging based on successive repeated snapshot measurement is modeled as a source coding process in information theory. The necessary number of measurement to maintain a certain level of error rate is depicted as the rate-distortion function of the source coding. Quantitative formula of the error rate versus measurement number relation is derived, based on the information capacity of imaging system. Second order fluctuation correlation imaging (SFCI) experiment with pseudo-thermal light verifies this formula, which paves the way for introducing information theory into the study of ghost imaging (GI), both conventional and computational.