ESTIMATION OF THE MEAN SQUARE LIGHT INTENSITY  FROM PHOTOELECTRON 
      STATISTICS
      
      
      
      E. S. Sarkisyan
 
      
      
      Kotel’nikov Institute of Radio-Engineering and Electronics 
      of RAS,
      
      
      Institute of Radiophysics and Electronics of NAS of Armenia
    
    
Received September 21, 2011, 
after corrections - October 18, 2011
 
Abstract. Consequence of
two methods of processing a photomultiplier output is considered, related to
the variance of the estimates obtained. Detection of a radiation producing in
the average less than one photoelectron per radiation intensity correlation
time is presumed. Distinction between the variance of the respective estimates
proves to become greater as pulsations of the light intensity grow.
Keywords:  detection of weak light,
light intensity statistics.