ABSTRACT

The angular resolution of a telescope is determined by the wavelength of the detected light divided by the aperture size. One can increase the effective aperture size by using multiple separated telescopes, assuming one can bring the signals together coherently and interfere them; this is the principal upon which large radio telescope arrays operate, and what enabled the Event Horizon Telescope to recently capture the first-ever image of a black hole. Unfortunately, it is much more difficult to do this for visible wavelengths. Several years ago, a modified form of quantum teleportation was proposed to effectively bring the signals from multiple telescopes together; implemented correctly, quantum teleportation realizes an effectively lossless channel. Through this project a multidisciplinary team of researchers in astronomy, electrical engineering, physics, and quantum information theory aims to perform the first proof-of-principle table-top demonstrations showing the advantage of such quantum-enhanced telescopy. This work develops a deeper understanding of the fundamental science of the role and potential of quantum mechanics in multi-telescope interferometric imaging, creates a distributed quantum sensor relevant to the broader field of quantum communication, and engineers new technologies for producing quantum light and detecting it at high rates, making the research of value for multiple applications. This project supports the training of students in multidisciplinary collaboration, the expansion and development of courses in quantum information science, and public outreach activities to encourage young people and minorities to explore science and technology.

This project uses a table-top testbed optical setup with simulated stellar sources in the form of single-photon sources and highly attenuated thermal sources, and a simulated telescope network that uses coincidence detection between telescopes to determine the spatial coherence of the modes from the source. The investigators aim to 1) demonstrate for the first time quantum-enhanced telescopy with a simulated source using one single photon per collected mode, 2) extend the demonstration by implementing a faster multimode parallel-processing version of the protocol, and 3) explore going beyond this initial approach and implement more efficient multimode operations with all-optical methods and using quantum error correction techniques. The largest long-term scientific payoff of this research would be the development of practical astronomical interferometers with quantum-enhanced performance. Shorter-term outcomes include a deeper understanding of distributed quantum sensing and the development of new techniques that use quantum light, both of which have broad applicability beyond astronomical imaging.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

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