Do photon-number-resolving detectors provide valid evidence for the
discrete nature of light?
- URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2110.04245v1
- Date: Fri, 8 Oct 2021 16:52:52 GMT
- Title: Do photon-number-resolving detectors provide valid evidence for the
discrete nature of light?
- Authors: Morgan C. Williamson, Gabriel D. Ko, Brian R. La Cour
- Abstract summary: We consider whether photon-number-resolving (PNR) detectors provide compelling evidence for the discrete nature of light.
We propose an alternative interpretation for the analysis of PNR detector output that is consistent with a wave picture of light.
We find that results from low SNR PNR detectors are able to be described by classical descriptions.
- Score: 0.0
- License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Abstract: We consider the question of whether photon-number-resolving (PNR) detectors
provide compelling evidence for the discrete nature of light; i.e., whether
they indicate the prior presence of a certain number of discrete photons. To
answer this question, we reveal the insufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of
existing PNR detectors, and propose an alternative interpretation for the
analysis of PNR detector output that is consistent with a wave picture of light
and does not rely on the presumption of light particles. This interpretation is
based on the aggregation of correlated or accidentally coincident detections
within a given detector coincidence window. Our interpretation accounts for the
arbitrary character of detector coincidence windows and includes connections to
established treatments of intensity interferometers. To validate our
interpretation, we performed an experiment on a multiplexed PNR detector and
examined the dependence of photon number on the coincidence window via
post-processing. These observations were then compared to a fully classical
wave model based on amplitude threshold detection, and the results were found
to be in excellent agreement. We find that results from low SNR PNR detectors,
such as those existing in the literature, are able to be described by classical
descriptions, and therefore do not demonstrate evidence for the discrete nature
of light.
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