Fast recognition of single molecules based on single event photon statistics

TL;DR

This paper introduces a rapid method for identifying single molecules using the Mandel Q-parameter derived from single event photon statistics, offering an alternative to traditional correlation measurements.

Contribution

The work presents a novel approach leveraging photon statistics and the Mandel Q-parameter for fast single-molecule recognition, improving speed over existing methods.

Findings

Effective differentiation of single molecules using photon statistics.

Error estimates for photon statistic thresholds.

Comparison showing faster identification than traditional methods.

Abstract

Mandel Q-parameter, which is determined from single event photon statistics, provides an alternative to differentiate single-molecule with fluorescence detection. In this work, by using the Q-parameter of the sample fluorescence compared to that of an ideal double-molecule system with the same average photon number, we present a novel and fast approach for identifying single molecules based on single event photon statistics analyses, compared with commonly used two-time correlation measurements. The error estimates for critical values of photon statistics are also presented for single-molecule determination.