Classical ghost imaging is a computational imaging technique that employs patterned illumination. It is very similar in concept to the single-pixel camera in that an image may be reconstructed from a set of measurements even though all imaging photons or particles that pass through that sample are never recorded with a position resolving detector. The method was first conceived and applied for visible-wavelength photons and was subsequently translated to other probes such as x rays, atomic beams, electrons, and neutrons. In the context of classical ghost imaging using penetrating probes that enable transmission measurement, we here consider several questions relating to the achievable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This is compared with the SNR for conventional imaging under scenarios of constant radiation dose and constant experiment time, considering both photon shot noise and per-measurement electronic readout noise. We show that inherent improved SNR capabilities of classical ghost imaging are limited to a subset of these scenarios and are actually due to increased dose (Fellgett advantage). An explanation is also presented for recent results published in the literature that are not consistent with these findings.

• Received 6 September 2020
• Accepted 3 February 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.103.033503