ESO White Paper on Intensity Interferometry: Cosmology, Fundamental Physics, Quantum Optics
Abstract
In this whitepaper, we outline how recent technological advances and ongoing developments open qualitatively new science opportunities in cosmology, fundamental physics, and quantum astrophysics. First, intensity interferometry can contribute to one of the most foundational observables in cosmology: the expansion rate of the Universe. Its angular resolution allows it to resolve the angular extent of extragalactic objects such as supernovae or quasars; combined with a physical scale local to the source, this yields an angular diameter distance and hence a 'Hubble diagram'. Second, the nature of dark matter can be probed via the astrometric lensing signatures of tiny dark matter halos. Third, intensity interferometry gives direct access to second-order coherence properties of astrophysical emission, opening a window onto genuinely quantum aspects of astrophysical light.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2602.12717,
title = {ESO White Paper on Intensity Interferometry: Cosmology, Fundamental Physics, Quantum Optics},
author = {Robin Kaiser and William Guerin and Farrokh Vakili and Jean-Philippe Berger and Andrei Nomerotski and Sergei Kulkov and Peter Svihra and Eva Santos and Colin Carlile and Dainis Dravins and Stefan Funk and Prasenjit Saha and Roland Walter and Marcelo Borges Fernandes and Alex G. Kim and David Dunsky and Ken Van Tilburg and Masha Baryakhtar and Marios Galanis and Robert V. Wagoner and Neal Dalal and Junwu Huang and Charles Gammie and Norman W. Murray},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2602.12717},
year = {2026}
}
Comments
ESO White Paper on Intensity Interferometry 4 pages