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Direct detection of a single photon by humans

Author

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  • Jonathan N. Tinsley

    (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
    Research Platform Quantum Phenomena & Nanoscale Biological Systems (QuNaBioS), University of Vienna
    Present address: Department of Physics, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7ZE, UK)

  • Maxim I. Molodtsov

    (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
    Research Platform Quantum Phenomena & Nanoscale Biological Systems (QuNaBioS), University of Vienna
    Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna)

  • Robert Prevedel

    (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
    Research Platform Quantum Phenomena & Nanoscale Biological Systems (QuNaBioS), University of Vienna
    Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna)

  • David Wartmann

    (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
    Present address: Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, 313 Lewis Hall, Berkeley, California 94720, USA.)

  • Jofre Espigulé-Pons

    (Research Platform Quantum Phenomena & Nanoscale Biological Systems (QuNaBioS), University of Vienna
    Faculty of Physics, VCQ, University of Vienna)

  • Mattias Lauwers

    (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology)

  • Alipasha Vaziri

    (Research Institute of Molecular Pathology
    Research Platform Quantum Phenomena & Nanoscale Biological Systems (QuNaBioS), University of Vienna
    Max F. Perutz Laboratories, University of Vienna
    Laboratory of Neurotechnology and Biophysics, The Rockefeller University)

Abstract

Despite investigations for over 70 years, the absolute limits of human vision have remained unclear. Rod cells respond to individual photons, yet whether a single-photon incident on the eye can be perceived by a human subject has remained a fundamental open question. Here we report that humans can detect a single-photon incident on the cornea with a probability significantly above chance. This was achieved by implementing a combination of a psychophysics procedure with a quantum light source that can generate single-photon states of light. We further discover that the probability of reporting a single photon is modulated by the presence of an earlier photon, suggesting a priming process that temporarily enhances the effective gain of the visual system on the timescale of seconds.

Suggested Citation

  • Jonathan N. Tinsley & Maxim I. Molodtsov & Robert Prevedel & David Wartmann & Jofre Espigulé-Pons & Mattias Lauwers & Alipasha Vaziri, 2016. "Direct detection of a single photon by humans," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 7(1), pages 1-9, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:7:y:2016:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms12172
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12172
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    Cited by:

    1. Liheng Bian & Haoze Song & Lintao Peng & Xuyang Chang & Xi Yang & Roarke Horstmeyer & Lin Ye & Chunli Zhu & Tong Qin & Dezhi Zheng & Jun Zhang, 2023. "High-resolution single-photon imaging with physics-informed deep learning," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    2. Alberto Ambrosetti & Paolo Umari & Pier Luigi Silvestrelli & Joshua Elliott & Alexandre Tkatchenko, 2022. "Optical van-der-Waals forces in molecules: from electronic Bethe-Salpeter calculations to the many-body dispersion model," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    3. Markku Kilpeläinen & Johan Westö & Jussi Tiihonen & Anton Laihi & Daisuke Takeshita & Fred Rieke & Petri Ala-Laurila, 2024. "Primate retina trades single-photon detection for high-fidelity contrast encoding," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-9, December.
    4. Renzo C. Lanfranco & Andrés Canales-Johnson & Hugh Rabagliati & Axel Cleeremans & David Carmel, 2024. "Minimal exposure durations reveal visual processing priorities for different stimulus attributes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.

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