STATISTICAL AND QUANTUM OPTICS provides a clear, up-to-date and comprehensive introduction to the recent field of modern optics dealing with coherence and fluctuations of light. The first two chapters discuss the statistical frame work needed for later part of the book followed by systematic account of coherence theory with a detailed discussed on photon statistics. Description of quantum theory of coherence is preceded by a introductory chapter on field quantization. A detailed description of non-classical light highlighted by phenomena of anti-bunching, Sub-Poissonian statistics, production and detection of squeezed light and coherent state follows. Next is the discussion on E-P-R paradox on reality, locality and completeness of quantum mechanics bringing out clearly the importance of Bell’s inequalities. The concluding two chapters put forward forcefully the new fundamental concepts based on quantum superposition and entanglement leading to two photon interference, quantum cryptography and teleportation.

Preface / Probability and Random Variable / Random Process / Coherence Theory of Optical Fields / Polarization Properties of Quasi-Monochromatic Light / Fluctuations of Light Beam / Photon Statistics / Photon Correlation Spectroscopy / Basics of Field Quantization / Quantum Theory of Coherence / Coherent States of the Radiation Field / Squeezed Light / Photon Interference / The EPR Paradox / Quantum Information / Further Reading / Index.

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