Optical coherence theory

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Abstract
An account is given of optical coherence theory as it existed in the 1950's when, essentially, only thermal sources and slow detectors were available and it sufficed to characterize the coherence and polarization properties of an electromagnetic field by second-order correlation functions. The necessity for a more sophisticated specification of the coherence properties of fields, involving the use of higher-order correlation functions, first hinted at by the Hanbury-Brown-Twiss experiments and emphasized by the advent of the laser, is then introduced. Both classical and quantum mechanical treatments are discussed, each leading, in almost all cases of practical interest, to similar results. It is seen that the development of fast detectors enabled the higher-order correlation functions to be measured using photon counting techniques and an account of experimental work verifying the complete theory using such techniques is given. The review concludes with a discussion of some developments in associated areas whose origin lies in the resurgence of interest in coherence theory during the last decade.