Standoff two-color quantum ghost imaging through turbulence

Recently, a two-color quantum ghost imaging configuration was proposed by Karmakar et al. [Phys. Rev. A81, 033845 (2010)]. By illuminating an object located far away from the source and detector, with a signal beam of long wavelength to avoid absorption of short wavelengths in the atmosphere while a reference beam of short wavelength is detected locally, this imaging configuration can be appropriate for standoff sensing. In practice, the signal beam must propagate through atmosphere in the presence of serious turbulence. We analyzed theoretically the performance of this ghost imaging configuration through turbulence. Based on the Gaussian state source model and extended Huygens-Fresnel integral, a formula is derived to depict the ghost image formed through turbulence of a standoff reflective object. Numerical calculations are also given according to the formula. The results show that the image quality will be degraded by the turbulence, but the resolution can be improved by means of optimizing the wavelengths of the reference and signal beams even when the turbulence is very serious.