Asymmetric probability density function of a signal withinterferometric crosstalk

An asymmetric probability density function due to the beating of interferometric crosstalk and amplifier spontaneous emission noise in a system with optical preamplifier is observed experimentally and explained theoretically. An accurate derivation of the probability density function of the photocurrent in the presence of N incoherent homodyne interferers is presented, for the first time, to explain the asymmetry. The model is compared with the experiment and is shown to be in excellent agreement