We report an experimental study on the intensity fluctuation-fluctuation correlations of chaotic-thermal light. This experiment introduced a detection protocol, which distinguishes positive and negative intensity fluctuations and lead to an intensity fluctuation-fluctuation correlation with 100% contrast from jointly measured photodetection events. This type of correlation provides a solution to achieve high visibility in thermal light ghost imaging. This study also explored other potential applications in which the higher-order coherence is necessary to be distinguished from the coexisting lower-order effects. In addition to its obvious importance in practical applications, this experiment brings us a broader vision in understanding the physical relationship between locally measured intensity fluctuations and the distant fluctuation-fluctuation correlations of chaotic-thermal light.

• Received 20 June 2012

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.88.023808