Imaging arbitrary incoherent source distributions with near quantum-limited resolution
Abstract
We demonstrate an approach to obtaining near quantum-limited far-field imaging resolution of incoherent sources with arbitrary distributions. Our method assumes no prior knowledge of the source distribution, but rather uses an adaptive approach to imaging via spatial mode demultiplexing that iteratively updates both the form of the spatial imaging modes and the estimate of the source distribution. The optimal imaging modes are determined by minimizing the estimated Cram\'er-Rao bound over the manifold of all possible sets of orthogonal imaging modes. We have observed through Monte Carlo simulations that the manifold-optimized spatial mode demultiplexing measurement consistently outperforms standard imaging techniques in the accuracy of source reconstructions and comes within a factor of 2 of the absolute quantum limit as set by the quantum Cram\'er-Rao bound. The adaptive framework presented here allows for a consistent approach to achieving near quantum-limited imaging resolution of arbitrarily distributed sources through spatial mode imaging techniques.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2106.13332,
title = {Imaging arbitrary incoherent source distributions with near quantum-limited resolution},
author = {Erik F. Matlin and Lucas J. Zipp},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2106.13332},
year = {2022}
}
Comments
Accepted version of manuscript published in Scientific Reports. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-06644-3. Additional notes: Updated formatting of article, included more examples and comparisons to the quantum Cram\'er-Rao bound, and revised the 2D reconstruction examples