Performance advantage of quantum hypothesis testing for partially coherent optical sources

Abstract

Determining the presence of a potential optical source in the interest region is important for an imaging system and can be achieved by using hypothesis testing. The previous studies assume that the potential source is completely incoherent. In this paper, this problem is generalized to the scenario with partially coherent sources and any prior probabilities. We compare the error probability limit given by the quantum Helstrom bound with the error probability given by direct decision based on the prior probability. On this basis, the quantum-optimal detection advantage and detection-useless region are analyzed. For practical purposes, we propose a specific detection strategy using binary spatial-mode demultiplexing, which can be used in the scenarios without any prior information. This strategy shows superior detection performance and the results hold prospects for achieving super-resolved microscopic and astronomical imaging.

References in corpus (25)

• Quantum Illumination with Gaussian States
• The Quantum Chernoff Bound
• Quantum Theory of Superresolution for Two Incoherent Optical Point Sources
• Far-field Superresolution of Thermal Electromagnetic Sources at the Quantum Limit
• Optimal discrimination of quantum operations
• Beating Rayleigh's Curse by Imaging Using Phase Information
• The quantum Chernoff bound as a measure of distinguishability between density matrices: application to qubit and Gaussian states
• Subdiffraction incoherent optical imaging via spatial-mode demultiplexing
• Quantum limit for two-dimensional resolution of two incoherent optical point sources
• Interferometric superlocalization of two incoherent optical point sources
• Quantum-optimal detection of one-versus-two incoherent optical sources with arbitrary separation
• Quantum-optimal detection of one-versus-two incoherent sources with arbitrary separation
• Superresolution Limits from Measurement Crosstalk
• Quantum hypothesis testing for exoplanet detection
• Optical quantum super-resolution imaging and hypothesis testing
• Subdiffraction incoherent optical imaging via spatial-mode demultiplexing: semiclassical treatment
• Resolution limits of spatial mode demultiplexing with noisy detection
• Comment on "Resurgence of Rayleigh's curse in the presence of partial coherence"
• Quantum limits of superresolution in a noisy environment
• Optimal observables and estimators for practical superresolution imaging
• Subwavelength quantum imaging with noisy detectors
• Discrimination and estimation of incoherent sources under misalignment
• Arbitrary spatial mode sorting in a multimode fiber
• Application range of crosstalk-affected spatial demultiplexing for resolving separations between unbalanced sources
• Superresolution imaging of two incoherent optical sources with unequal brightnesses