On the characterization of the rotation of the irradiance profile of partially coherent beams

摘要

On the basis of the irradiance-moments formalism, four matrices are proposed whose elements, defined for any partially coherent field, are closely related with the second-order measurable parameters handled in the ISO standard 11146. These matrices are shown to exhibit a number of properties concerning the orientation of the transverse beam profile. This behavior is described by the rotation of the principal axes of the field around its propagation axis. In addition, a new parameter is introduced in terms of the above matrices, which is invariant through rotationally-symmetric first-order optical systems.