Development of quantum technologies for optical/infrared interferometry

Abstract:Quantum technologies may revolutionize optical interferometry through new means to distribute and preserve electric-field amplitude and phase correlations between widely separated telescopes. After reviewing existing techniques, I survey proposed quantum-sensing and quantum-networking applications and highlight recent laboratory demonstrations of key building blocks. By easing field-transport demands for baselines beyond $\sim$1 km, quantum-enhanced interferometry could enable sub-milliarcsecond imaging and microarcsecond-class differential astrometry. That said, "going quantum" is not a magic shortcut to sensitivity because many of the most compelling science cases remain photon- and turbulence-limited. I therefore emphasize the practical constraints -- loss, bandwidth, coherence time, synchronization, and wavelength limits of quantum interfaces -- that must also be overcome to make these capabilities useful for astronomy, whether deployed on the ground or from space.

16 pages, 4 figures. Presented at SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation 2026, Copenhagen

Instrumentation and Methods for Astrophysics (astro-ph.IM); Quantum Physics (quant-ph)

arXiv:2609.04311 [astro-ph.IM]

(or arXiv:2609.04311v1 [astro-ph.IM] for this version)

https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2609.04311 Focus to learn more arXiv-issued DOI via DataCite (pending registration)

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