Light with tunable non-Markovian phase imprint

Abstract: We introduce a simple and flexible method to generate spatially non-Markovian light with tunable coherence properties in one and two dimensions. The unusual behavior of this light is demonstrated experimentally by probing the far field and recording its diffraction pattern after a double slit: In both cases we observe instead of a central intensity maximum a line or cross shaped dark region, whose width and profile depend on the non-Markovian coherence properties. Since these properties can be controlled and easily reproduced in experiment, the presented approach lends itself to serve as a testbed to gain a deeper understanding of non-Markovian processes.