PROPAGATION OF FIELDS WITH AXIALLY SYMMETRICAL CROSS-SPECTRAL DENSITIES

The study of the propagation of axially symmetric cross-spectral densities is of particular interest within the framework of Wolf's new theory of partial coherence [J. Opt. Soc. Am. 72, 343 (1982); J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 3, 1920 (1986)]. We deal with a mathematical method of computing an axially symmetric cross-spectral density in a plane, at a distance z from the source plane, as a linear combination of a finite number of its values in the source plane. In previous applications to the propagation of optical disturbances, this method has already been proved to be accurate and suitable for computer implementation.