Light with Tunable Non-Markovian Phase Imprint.

We introduce a simple and flexible method to generate spatially non-Markovian light with tunable coherence properties in one and two dimensions. The unusual behavior of this light is demonstrated experimentally by probing the far field and by recording its diffraction pattern after a double slit: In both cases we observe, instead of a central intensity maximum, a line- or cross-shaped dark region, whose width and profile depend on the non-Markovian coherence properties. Because these properties can be controlled and easily reproduced in experiment, the presented approach lends itself to serving as a test bed to study and gain a deeper understanding of non-Markovian processes.

Complete characterization of partially coherent and partially polarized optical fields.

We suggest a method to access the second-order, or two-point, Stokes parameters of a partially coherent and partially polarized Gaussian model optical field from an intensity interferometry experiment. Through a remarkably simple experimental arrangement, it is possible to measure the two-point and one-point Stokes parameters simultaneously, allowing the reconstruction of the coherence matrix and the polarization matrix, thus completely characterizing the optical field both statistically and locally on the observation plane. Developments, automation, and applications are pointed out.

Effects of pseudothermal light source's transverse size and coherence width in ghost-interference experiments.

Ghost interference is experimentally investigated by varying the pseudothermal light source's transverse size and coherence width. Our results show that by increasing the transverse size of the source the quality of the interference pattern is improved, while the visibility is reduced. On the other hand, by increasing the coherence width of the source, the visibility of the interference pattern is improved, while the quality is reduced. These experimental results corroborate previous theoretical results.