Interferometric Parallax: A Method for Measurement of Astronomical Distances

摘要

We show that distances of objects at cosmological distances can be measureddirectly using interferometry. Our approach to interferometric parallax comesfrom analysis of 4-point amplitude and intensity correlations that can begenerated from pairs of well-separated detectors. The baseline required tomeasure cosmological distances of Gigaparsec order are within the reach of thenext generation of space-borne detectors. The semi-classical interpretation ofintensity correlations uses a notion of a single photon taking two pathssimultaneously. Semi-classically a single photon can simultaneously enter fourdetectors separated by an astronomical unit, developing correlations feasibleto measure with current technology.