Hanbury Brown & Twiss Experiment

The Hanbury Brown & Twiss experiment demonstrated that light has statistical properties revealing its quantum nature. By measuring correlations between photons arriving at two detectors, researchers observed "photon bunching," where photons tend to arrive together rather than randomly. This experiment showed that light from sources like stars exhibits a degree of coherence, helping to determine stellar diameters. It provided crucial insights into quantum optics, showing that photons are not just particles but also exhibit wave-like behaviors with correlated arrival times, deepening our understanding of the particle-wave duality in quantum physics.