MRI: Acquisition of a Time-Resolved, Image-Intensified Camera for the Spatial Imaging of Quantum-Entangled Photons

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Imaging with cameras has transformed science and society. Modern cameras often record huge numbers of photons, the quantum-particles of light, with arrays of electronic detectors. This research project will investigate new applications for images that are carried by a small number of individual photons. A state-of-the-art camera will be acquired to study images formed with single photons. This will open new possibilities for studying how imaging can be accomplished in ways that take advantage of quantum aspects of photons, such as entanglement. This team will explore how new imaging methods can lead to a deeper understanding of light and pave the way to developing new quantum technologies. The camera will also enable undergraduates to do research on quantum optics phenomena, such as "ghost imaging", and this will improve their education on the fundamentals of quantum physics.Spatial modes of light are the basic components of images. The goal of this research is to image the spatial modes of single photons that are quantum entangled with other photons, and with other degrees of freedom, such as polarization. The image-intensified camera will enable acquiring the images of photons that are not possible with conventional cameras due to shortcomings in their triggering technology. This team will investigate using the camera to characterize the quantum state of the light in ways that are alternative to current methods. This team will also investigate the images carried by photons through their entanglement, and they will investigate high-dimensional hyper-entanglement of light. The camera will help undergraduates to do research in quantum optics with entangled photons, and this will improve students' understanding of quantum entanglement.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.