High-order photon-number correlations: a resource for characterization and applications of quantum states

We measure high-order correlation functions of detected-photon numbers in the mesoscopic regime by means of hybrid photodetectors. The analytical expressions for correlations are evaluated in terms of quantities that can be experimentally accessed by a selfconsistent analysis of the detectors' outputs. We demonstrate that high-order correlations can be used to charac- terize the nature of the optical states, for instance by better discriminating between classical and quantum behavior even in critical situations, such as multimode twin-beam state. The results are in very good agreement with the theory, both for classical states and quantum states.