Hanbury Brown and Twiss Interferometry with Twisted Light

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that random optical fields exhibit correlations in orbital angular momentum and angular position, revealing an azimuthal Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect that could impact various physics and astrophysics applications.

Contribution

It introduces the azimuthal Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect, showing correlations in orbital angular momentum and angular position in random light fields, a novel interference phenomenon.

Findings

Correlations in orbital angular momentum components and angular positions are observed.

Distinct interference structures in the OAM-mode distribution are identified.

The azimuthal Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect is proposed as a new fundamental phenomenon.

Abstract

The rich physics exhibited by random optical wave fields permitted Hanbury Brown and Twiss to unveil fundamental aspects of light. Furthermore, it has been recognized that optical vortices are ubiquitous in random light and that the phase distribution around these optical singularities inprints a spectrum of orbital angular momentum onto a light field. We demonstrate that random fluctuations of light give rise to the formation of correlations in the orbital angular momentum components and angular positions of pseudothermal light. The presence of these correlations is manisfested through distinct interference structures in the orbital angular momentum-mode distribution of random light. These novel forms of interference correspond to the azimuthal analog of the Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect. This family of effects can be of fundamental importance in applications where entanglement is not required and where correlations in angular position and orbital angular momentum suffice. We also suggest that the azimuthal Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect can be useful in the exploration of novel phenomena in other branches of physics and astrophysics.