Quantum imaging

Since the early days of quantum mechanics, physicists have been puzzled by the counterintuitive consequences of entanglement. Quantum imaging is one of the most intriguing effects exhibiting the typical nonlocal behavior of entangled states and has in fact stimulated an intense debate regarding fundamental issues of quantum theory. Recently, particular attention has been given to the possibility of simulating quantum imaging classically, that is, without entanglement. The study of quantum imaging has also lead to useful practical applications such as high precision nonlocal timing-positioning and quantum lithog raphy, in which measurements may achieve resolution even beyond the classical limits. In this paper, we first introduce the concept of quantum imaging and emphasize its peculiar quantum nature through a set of inequalities derived from the historical argument of Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen (EPR). The EPR inequalities are the quantitative formulation of the very different physics governing entangled and separable systems. We show that two-photon imaging may achieve its fundamental limit only through nonlocal measurements realized on entangled photon pairs. Furthermore. we show that quantum imaging may be exploited to overcome the Rayleigh diffraction limit; this is the basic idea behind quantum lithography. Finally, we discuss the possibility of extending the coherent two-photon imaging typical of entangled photon pairs to incoherent coincidence imaging, by employing chaotic light. From an applicative viewpoint, chaotic radiation may represent the ideal candidate for mimicking quantum ghost imaging, provided adequate detection schemes are developed.