Quantum “ghost imaging” technique paves the way for nanoscale-resolution images at a lower X-ray dose.
A group of researchers led by scientists at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II), a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science user facility at DOE’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, is exploring a quantum-inspired imaging approach that could set the stage for obtaining high-resolution data while reducing X-ray exposure. The method relies on pairs of quantum-entangled X-ray photons, linked particles of light from the same origin that share properties and information. In each entangled pair, one photon interacts with a sample while its partner does not. By analyzing these pairs, the team demonstrated that information carried by the untouched photon can be used to form an image, complementing information obtained from its partner. This early proof of concept could ultimately enable longer, lower-dose studies of delicate biological materials, such as plant tissues, and may one day inform lower-dose medical imaging. Their results were published in Optica.
Seeing “ghosts”
Quantum “ghost” imaging is a technique that is as intriguing as its name suggests. In conventional X-ray imaging, X-ray photons directly interact with the sample being studied. Ghost imaging, instead, uses pairs of photons that are created together and share linked properties, known as quantum correlations. One photon from each pair travels through the sample, while its partner never interacts with it at all. Despite this, the untouched photon behaves as if it has encountered the sample.
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Image: A conceptual schematic of “ghost imaging” displays the samples being imaged, which include a cat-shaped tungsten test pattern and an E. cardamomum seed. The objects are placed inside a ring on the lower two detector chips, while the upper chips are left open. By measuring paired X-ray signals at the same time, the system produces two matching images.
Credit: Valerie A. Lentz/Brookhaven National Laboratory