arXiv subjects

Wanting Hou

Publications and source records attributed to Wanting Hou.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Correlation Swapping: a correlator for independent thermal light sources

Optical intensity correlation is a fundamental property of light and an essential resource for numerous optical applications. In this work, we introduce the concept of classical correlation swapping, a classical analogue of quantum entanglement swapping, to generate all-purpose spatial correlations between two independent thermal light sources. Using a spatially unresolved Mach-Zehnder interferometer and a medium variable, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of the correlator with two distinct schemes for independent pseudo-thermal light beams. Notably, the resulting photon correlations can be readily tailored to exhibit either bunching (peak) or anti-correlated (dip) characteristics, with a significantly reduced number of post-selection measurements. Leveraging this classical correlator, we further demonstrate the first classical ghost imaging experiment using uncorrelated or unknown light. Numerical simulations also confirm that the correlator can not only operate well in other spatial degrees of freedom (e.g., orbital angular momentum) but also be used to establish specific spatial correlations between pseudo-thermal light sources possessing distinct correlation properties. This work opens a new avenue for harnessing uncorrelated classical light in correlation-based optical applications.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2026

Correlation visibility and generalized Siegert relation for random light beams

Phase difference is central to classical coherence theory. With the advancement of various light-field modulation techniques, artificially generated pseudo-thermal light sources or random light beams can exhibit exotic wavefront correlation properties. However, such spatial wavefront correlations cannot be fully characterized using the phase difference alone. For instance, for a pair of conjugate pseudo-thermal beams, the spatial wavefronts exhibit a significant anti-correlation, meaning that the sum of their wavefronts tends to be constant. In this work, we propose the concept of degree of wavefront correlation $p^{(1)}$, ranging symmetrically from $-1$ to $+1$, for numerically calculating the wavefront correlation properties among various pseudo-thermal light sources, and the sign (positive or negative) can be used to determine the tendency-whether it leans toward wavefront-difference or wavefront-sum correlation. Numerical results demonstrate that the classical Siegert relation does not apply to pseudo-thermal light sources that exhibit wavefront-sum correlation properties. To address this, we propose a generalization valid for all Gaussian pseudo-thermal light. Experimentally, we introduce the measurable quantities of correlation visibility $\mathcal{V}_g$ and correlation background $\mu_g$, which form a two-dimensional classification framework $\{\mu_g,\mathcal{V}_g\}$ that enables the experimental characterization of diverse Gaussian pseudo-thermal light using a common-path interferometer and intensity correlation measurement. Furthermore, the correlation visibility $\mathcal{V}_g$ can serve as an observable criterion for a zero-mean, non-circularly symmetric, and jointly Gaussian distribution.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2018

Limit theorems for the minimal position of a branching random walk in random environment

We consider a branching system of random walk in random environment (in location) in $\mathbb{N}$. We will give the exact limit value of $\frac{M_{n}}{n}$, where $M_{n}$ denotes the minimal position of branching random walk at time $n$. A key step in the proof is to transfer our branching random walks in random environment (in location) to branching random walks in random environment (in time), by use of Bramson's "branching processes within a branching process" .

math.PR↗