TWO-PHOTON CORRELATION OF CHAOTIC LIGHT: A QUANTUM INTERFERENCE PHENOMENON

Two-photon correlation phenomena of chaotic light, including the historical Hanbury Brown and Twiss effect, are essentially the quantum effect of two-photon interference, instead of the classical statistical correlation between intensity fluctuations. To support our view, we analyze a "ghost" imaging experiment with chaotic light for which the classical understanding does not give a satisfactory interpretation. We also provide a two-photon optical picture of ghost imaging with chaotic light in terms of a two-photon phase-conjugate mirror, which suggests lensless imaging applications for radiations for which no effective lens is available.