Publication

QUASAR: Development of 20 picosecond resolution intensity interferometry

2025

Abstract

In 1956, the pioneering experiment of Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) on measuring the sizes of bright stars was limited by the time resolution of their detectors and their telescope size. Recent developments in single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs) have lowered detector time resolution to under tens of picoseconds. In this work, we report the results of laboratory tests of SPAD detectors to observe the HBT effect in photon-counting mode. Using a simple laboratory setup and cutting-edge SPAD detectors, we obtain a time resolution of ≈ 20ps (2 SPADs + TDC). Additionally, using thermal light sources and narrow spectral filters, we analyze the second-order correlation function obtained from different light sources of continuous and line spectra. Results are discussed and compared with the expectations. Furthermore, we report on a setup, allowing to simulate and estimate the size of an artificial star of known size to verify the analysis and data correlation techniques.

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/ea1f7609-47da-439d-9569-c426d6b00b51

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2025

Abstract

Official source

https://infoscience.epfl.ch/entities/publication/ea1f7609-47da-439d-9569-c426d6b00b51

About this result

Related concepts (32)

Telescope

A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally it was an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe distant objects – an optical telescope. Nowadays, the word "telescope" is defined as wide range of instruments capable of detecting different regions of the electromagnetic spectrum, and in some cases other types of detectors.

Optical telescope

An optical telescope is a telescope that gathers and focuses light mainly from the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum, to create a magnified image for direct visual inspection, to make a photograph, or to collect data through electronic s. There are three primary types of optical telescope: Refracting telescopes, which use lenses and less commonly also prisms (dioptrics) Reflecting telescopes, which use mirrors (catoptrics) Catadioptric telescopes, which combine lenses and mirrors An optical telescope's ability to resolve small details is directly related to the diameter (or aperture) of its objective (the primary lens or mirror that collects and focuses the light), and its light-gathering power is related to the area of the objective.

Photon counting

Photon counting is a technique in which individual photons are counted using a single-photon detector (SPD). A single-photon detector emits a pulse of signal for each detected photon. The counting efficiency is determined by the quantum efficiency and the system's electronic losses. Many photodetectors can be configured to detect individual photons, each with relative advantages and disadvantages. Common types include photomultipliers, geiger counters, single-photon avalanche diodes, superconducting nanowire single-photon detectors, transition edge sensors, and scintillation counters.

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QUASAR: Development of 20 picosecond resolution intensity interferometry

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