光学相干性和量子光学

Priortothedevelopmentofthefirstlasersinthe1960s,opticalcoherencewasnotasubjectwithwhichmanyscientistshadmuchacquaintance,eventhoughearlycontributionstothefieldweremadebyseveraldistinguishedphysicists,includingMaxyouLane,ErwinSchrodingerandFritsZernike.However,thesituationchangedonceitwasrealizedthattheremarkablepropertiesoflaserlightdependedonitscoherence.AnearlierdevelopmentthatalsotriggeredinterestinopticalcoherencewasaseriesofimportantexperimentsbyHanburyBrownandTwissinteh1950s,showingthat,correlationsbetweenthefluctuationsofmutuallycoherentbeamsofthermallightcouldbemeasuredbyphotoelectriccorrelationandtwo-photoncoincidencecountingexperiments.Theinterpretationoftheseexperimentswas,however,surroundedbycontroversy,whichemphasizedtheneedforunderstandingthecoherencepropertiesoflightandtheireffectontheinteractionbetweenlightandmatter.