TY - JOUR
T1 - Generic propagation of beams with sharp spatial boundaries
AU - Luz, Eitam
AU - Yaakov, Tamar Ben
AU - Leiman, Shaul
AU - Sternklar, Shmuel
AU - Granot, ER'El
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Optical Society of America.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - The propagation of spatial beams with initially sharp transverse boundaries is investigated theoretically and experimentally with the paraxial wave equation (PWE). The sharp boundaries generate a universal pattern, which is a consequence of the Schrödinger-like nature of the paraxial dynamics. As a consequence, an approximate analytical expression can be derived for the longitudinal propagation dynamics of the beam. Furthermore, it is shown that the validation of the derived analytical approximation is not limited to the zone in which the PWE is valid, but it is valid in the entire space. Therefore, this solution is a good approximation for the solution of the scalar wave equation (and to the Maxwell wave equation whenever the aperture is much wider than the wavelength of light) in the entire space. Good agreement between the analytical expression and experiment results is presented.
AB - The propagation of spatial beams with initially sharp transverse boundaries is investigated theoretically and experimentally with the paraxial wave equation (PWE). The sharp boundaries generate a universal pattern, which is a consequence of the Schrödinger-like nature of the paraxial dynamics. As a consequence, an approximate analytical expression can be derived for the longitudinal propagation dynamics of the beam. Furthermore, it is shown that the validation of the derived analytical approximation is not limited to the zone in which the PWE is valid, but it is valid in the entire space. Therefore, this solution is a good approximation for the solution of the scalar wave equation (and to the Maxwell wave equation whenever the aperture is much wider than the wavelength of light) in the entire space. Good agreement between the analytical expression and experiment results is presented.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84982149396&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1364/JOSAA.32.000678
DO - 10.1364/JOSAA.32.000678
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AN - SCOPUS:84982149396
SN - 1084-7529
VL - 32
SP - 678
EP - 684
JO - Journal of the Optical Society of America A: Optics and Image Science, and Vision
JF - Journal of the Optical Society of America A: Optics and Image Science, and Vision
IS - 4
ER -