From Hanbury–Brown and Twiss Experiment to the Second-Order Double-Slit Interference for Incoherent Light

Abstract

In this review article, we discuss both experimentally and theoretically the second-order double-slit interference for a thermal light source which is random in transverse propagating direction. We show that when the bandwidth of the noise spectrum is increased, the first-order interference pattern disappears while the sub-wavelength pattern fringe emerges in the intensity correlation measurement. Our theoretical description, which is carried out in contrast with coherent light and two-photon state sources, demonstrates that this effect can be explained in accordance with the Hanbury Brown and Twiss experiment.