Many quantum information protocols rely on optical interference to compare datasets with efficiency or security unattainable by classical means. Standard implementations exploit first-order coherence between signals whose preparation requires a shared phase reference. Here, we analyze and experimentally demonstrate binary discrimination of visibility hypotheses based on higher-order interference for optical signals with a random relative phase. This provides a robust protocol implementation primitive when a phase lock is unavailable or impractical. With the primitive cost quantified by the total detected optical energy, optimal operation is typically reached in the few-photon regime.
@article{arxiv.1710.04672,
title = {Visibility-based hypothesis testing using higher-order optical interference},
author = {Michał Jachura and Marcin Jarzyna and Michał Lipka and Wojciech Wasilewski and Konrad Banaszek},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1710.04672},
year = {2018}
}