Measurement of the two-time intensity-correlation function of arbitrary states

For light-intensity-correlation measurements, different methods are used in the high-photon-number or high-intensity regime and in the single- and two-photon regime. Hence, there is an unfortunate measurement "gap" primarily for multiphoton, quantum states. These states, for example, multiphoton Fock states, will be increasingly important in the realization of quantum technologies and in exploring the boundaries between quantum and classical optics. We show that a naive approach based on attenuation, state splitting, and two-detector correlation can give the correct two-time intensity correlation for any state. We analyze how added losses decrease the measurement systematic error. The price to be paid is that the losses increase the measurement statistical error or, alternatively, increase the acquisition time for a given tolerable level of statistical error. We have experimentally demonstrated the feasibility of the method for a coherent state and a quasithermal state. The method is easy to implement in any laboratory and will simplify characterization of medium and highly excited nonclassical states as they become experimentally available.