Label-free correlation adaptive optics using even-symmetrical thermal light

In this work, we present a quantum-inspired, guide-star-free wavefront correction technique termed correlation adaptive optics (CAO) that leverages intensity correlations in even-symmetrical thermal light (ETL) to achieve label-free adaptive optical imaging. The sum-projection of the intensity correlation function across a set of centrosymmetric points acts as a feedback metric for iterative aberration correction, maintaining effectiveness even under object occlusion conditions. Compared to entangled photon pairs produced in spontaneous parametric downconversion, the ETL used in the CAO scheme is much easier to generate with high brightness using a commercial spatial light modulator, which thus paves the way for the adaptive aberration correction in various advanced computational imaging systems using structured illumination.