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arXiv · 2604.23797

From Random Fringes to Deterministic Response: Statistical Foundations of Time-Reversed Young Interferometry

Jianming Wen
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Abstract

Young interference is usually read as the gradual statistical accumulation of random detection events. Here we show that a time-reversed Young (TRY) geometry has a different statistical character: the fringe is not a marginal distribution of detector positions, but a conditional response indexed by a programmed source coordinate. With a fixed detector and a scanned source basis, the observable is an operational hybrid correlator between detector signal and source label. The resulting interference is deterministic at the response-function level, while noise enters only through estimation precision. We formulate this distinction using Fisher information, estimator variance, and noise scaling, clarifying why TRY naturally supports calibration, lock-in readout, null-fringe sensing, and source-plane superresolution.

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Jianming Wen. 2026-04-26. From Random Fringes to Deterministic Response: Statistical Foundations of Time-Reversed Young Interferometry. https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.23797

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