Work

Phase Space Formulation of Light Propagation on Tilted Planes

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The solution of the Helmholtz Equation describing the propagation of light in free space from a plane to another can be described by the Angular Spectrum operator which acts in frequency domain. Many applications require this operator to be generalized to handle tilted source and target planes, which has lead to research investigating the implications of these adaptations. However, the frequency domain representation intrinsically limits the understanding the way the signal is transformed through propagation. Instead, studying how the operator maps the space-frequency components of the wavefield provides essential information that is not available in frequency domain. In this work, we highlight and exploit the deep relation between wave optics and quantum mechanics to explicitly describe the symplectic action of the tilted angular spectrum in phase space, using mathematical tools that have proven their efficiency for quantum particle physics. These derivations lead to new algorithms that open unprecedented perspectives in various domains involving the propagation of coherent light.

Source: Photonics

DOI: 10.3390/photonics11111034

Authors: Patrick Gioia, Antonin Gilles, Anas El Rhammad, San Vu-Ngoc

Institutions: Orange (France), Institut de Recherche Technologique B-com, Université Rennes 1, Université de Rennes

Language: English

Topic: Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,728

Funder: Agence Nationale de la Recherche