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Comparing Optical and Radio — Quantum Issues

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2016

Rajaram Nityananda*
Affiliation:
Raman Research Institute, Bangalore 560080, India

Abstract

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Once upon a time, there were radio and optical astronomers, each group with its own way of detecting and thinking about radiation. In spite of the shock treatment administered by Hanbury-Brown and Twiss more than thirty five years ago, this dichotomy persists to a surprising extent even today. As new techniques emerge, we clearly need to do better. Coherent and incoherent detection, heterodyning and interferometry are all situations where a full analysis involves quantum behaviour of the radiation. This informal review covers the general approach needed and goes over some points of principle which arise.

Type
Radio/Optical comparisons
Copyright
Copyright © Kluwer 1994 

References

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