The angular resolution of an imaging system is sharply bounded by the diffraction limit, a fundamental property of electromagnetic radiation propagation. In order to increase resolution and see finer details of remote objects, the sizes of telescopes and cameras must be increased. As the size of the optics increase, practical problems and costs increase rapidly, making sparse aperture systems attractive for some cases. The method of Intensity Correlation Imaging (ICI) provides an alternative method of achieving high angular resolution that allows a system to be built with less stringent precision requirements, trading the mechanical complexity of a typical sparse aperture for increased computational requirements. Development of ICI has stagnated in the past due to the inadequacies of computational capabilities, but the continued development of computer technologies now allow us to approach the image reconstruction process in a new, more e ffctive manner. This thesis uses estimation methodology and the concept of transverse phase diversity to explore the modern bounds on the uses of ICI. Considering astronomical observations, the work moves beyond the traditional, single-parameter uses of ICI, and studies systems with many parameters and complex interactions. It is shown that ICI could allow significant new understanding of complex multi-star systems. Also considered are exoplanet and star-spot measurements; these are less promising due to noise considerations. Looking at the Earth imaging problem, we find significant challenges, particularly related to pointing requirements and the need for a large field-of-view. However, applying transverse phase diversity (TPD) measurements and a least-squares estimation methodology solves many of these problems and re-opens the possibility of applying ICI to the Earth-imaging problem. The thesis presents the TPD concept, demonstrates a sample design that takes advantage of the new development, and implements reconstruction techniques. While computational challenges remain, the concept is shown to be viable. Ultimately the work presented demonstrates that modern developments greatly enhance the potential of ICI. However, challenges remain, particularly those related to noise levels.

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Thesis (MSc (Physics))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Hanbury Brown-Twiss interferometry is a correlation technique by which the size and shape of the emission function of identical particles created during collisions of high-energy leptons, hadrons or nuclei can be determined. Accurate experimental datasets of three-dimensional correlation functions in momentum space now exist; these are sometimes almost Gaussian in form, but may also show strong deviations from Gaussian shapes. We investigate the suitability of expressing these correlation functions in terms of statistical quantities beyond the normal Gaussian description. Beyond means and the covariance matrix, higher-order moments and cumulants describe the form and di erence between the measured correlation function and a Gaussian distribution. The corresponding series expansion is the Gram- Charlier series and in particular the Gram-Charlier Type A expansion found in the literature, which is based on a Gaussian reference distribution. We investigate both the Gram-Charlier Type A series as well as generalised forms based on non-Gaussian reference distributions, as well as the related Edgeworth expansion. For testing purposes, experimental data is initially represented by a suite of one-dimensional analytic non-Gaussian distributions. We conclude that the accuracy of these expansions can be improved dramatically through a better choice of reference distribution, suggested by the sign and size of the kurtosis of the experimental distribution. We further extend our investigation to simulated samples of such test distributions and simplify the theoretical expressions for unbiased estimators (k-statistics) for the case of symmetric distributions.

In this thesis high-statistics π⁻π⁻ and π⁺π⁺ femtoscopy data are presented for Au+Au collisions at √sNN =2.4 GeV, measured with the High Acceptance Di-Electron Spectrometer HADES located at the heavy-ion synchrotron SIS18 at GSI.Due to space-momentum correlations the technique of intensity interferometry allows only to measure regions of homogeneity where pairs of particles with certain momentum origin. The determination of the space-time extent of the corresponding emission sources is then only possible via a comparison to models.The purpose of this thesis is to provide a multi-differential data set as input for such models and calculations, to draw conclusions from the total spatial and temporal extension of the pion emitting source. More than two billion events of the 45 % most central collisions are analysed. A complex data-driven pair cut is established to account for the close-track deficits in the non-trivial hexagonal geometry of the HADES setup. The correlation function is studied in the longitudinally co-moving system using the Bertsch-Pratt parametrisation. The region of homogeneity, parametrised as three-dimensional Gaussian distribution, is studied in dependence on pair transverse momentum, rapidity, azimuthal emission angle with respect to the event plane, collision centrality, and beam energy. For all centralities and transverse momenta, a geometrical distribution of ellipsoidal shape is found in the plane perpendicular to the beam direction with the larger extension perpendicular to the reaction plane. For large transverse momenta, the corresponding eccentricity approaches the initial eccentricity. The eccentricity is smallest for most central collisions, where the shape is almost circular.Furthermore, a tilt of the source w.r.t. the beam axis is found.The magnitude of the tilt angle of the emission ellipsoid in the reaction plane decreases with increasing centrality and increasing transverse momentum. All source radii increase with centrality, largely exhibiting a linear rise with the cubic root of the number of participants. A substantial charge-sign difference of the source radii is found, appearing most pronounced at low transverse momentum, which is addressed to the central Coulomb potential generated by the electrical charge of the participating nucleons in the collision. The extracted source parameters agree well with a smooth extrapolation of the center-of-mass energy dependence established at higher energies, extending the corresponding excitation functions down towards a very low energy. / In dieser Arbeit werden femtoskopische π⁻π⁻- und π⁺π⁺-Daten mit hoher Statistik präsentiert, welche in Kollisionen von Au+Au bei einer Schwerpunktsenergie von √sNN =2.4 GeV pro Nukleonpaar mithilfe von HADES (Zwei-Elektronen Spektrometer mit hoher Akzeptanz) am Schwerionen-Synchrotron an der GSI gemessen wurden. Aufgrund von Orts-Impuls-Korrelationen können mittels der Methode der Intensitäts-Interferometry nur Homogenitätsbereiche gemessen werden, aus welchen Teilchenpaare mit bestimmten Impuls entspringen. Die Bestimmung der raum-zeitlichen Ausdehnung der entsprechenden Emissionsquelle ist dann nur über die Hinzunahme von Modellvergleichen möglich. Die Absicht dieser Arbeit ist es, einen multi-differenziellen Daten-Satz zur Verfügung zustellen, welcher als Eingabe für solche Modelle und Rechnungen genutzt werden kann, um dann Rückschlüsse auf die absolute räumliche und zeitliche Ausdehnung der Pionen-emittierenden Quelle ziehen zu können. Mehr als zwei Milliarden Ereignisse der 45 % zentralsten Kollisionen werden analysiert. Eine komplexe Daten-basierende Paarselektion wird eingeführt, um die Verluste nah beieinander verlaufender Teilchenspuren innerhalb des nicht-trivialen hexa-geometrischen HADES-Aufbaus zu berücksichtigen. Die Korrelationsfunktion wird im longitudinal mitbewegten Inertialsystem in Bertsch-Pratt-Parametrisierung untersucht. Der als dreidimensionales Ellipsoid parametrisierte Homogenitätsbereich wird in Abhängigkeit von Transversalimpuls, azimuthalem Emissionswinkel relativ zur Reaktionsebene und Rapidität des Paares sowie Zentralität der Kollision und der Strahlenergie untersucht. In allen Zentralitäts- und Transversalimpulsbereichen wird eine geometrische Verteilung mit elliptischer Form innerhalb der auf die Strahlachse bezogenen transversalen Ebene beobachtet, wobei die größte Ausdehnung senkrecht zur Reaktionsebene zeigt. Für große Transversalimpulse stimmt die zugehörige Exzentrizität mit derjenigen der initialen Nukleonenverteilung überein. Die Exzentrizität ist am kleinsten für die zentralsten Kollisionen, bei denen eine fast kreisrunde Form beobachtet wird. Des Weiteren ist eine Neigung der Emissionsquelle relativ zur Strahlachse feststellbar. Der Wert des Neigungswinkels des Ellipsoids innerhalb der Reaktionsebene verringert sich mit zunehmend zentraleren Kollisionen und steigendem Transversalimpuls. Alle Quellradien werden größer mit zunehmender Zentralität und zeigen einen nahezu linearen Anstieg mit der Kubikwurzel der Anzahl der Partizipanten. Ein beträchtlicher Unterschied der Quellradien bezogen auf das Ladungsvorzeichen der Pionen wird beobachtet, welcher am prägnantesten bei kleinen Transversalim\-pulsen auftritt. Dieser wird dem zentralem Coulomb-Potential zugeschrieben, welches durch die elektrische Ladung der an der Kollision teilnehmenden Nukleonen generiert wird. Die extrahierten Quellparameter stimmen gut mit glatten Extrapolationen der Schwerpunktsenergie-Abhängigkeit überein, welche bei höheren Strahlenergien fixiert wurden, und erweitern diese hinab bis zu sehr kleinen Energien.