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Full length article Wigner distribution function for paraxial polychromatic optics

Kurt Bemardo

Published Jan 1, 1996• 0 citations
OpenAlex

Abstract

Polychromatic paraxial wavefields and their color images on a screen are provided here with a Wigner distribution function of position, momentum and wavelength. The definition is based on the Heisenberg-Weyl group. In the monochromatic limit we return to the common Wigner function and phase-space formalism. We examine one- and two-Gaussian polychromatic wavefields.

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Polychromatic paraxial wavefields and their color images on a screen are provided here with a Wigner distribution function of position, momentum and wavelength. The definition is based on the Heisenberg-Weyl group. In the monochromatic limit we return to the common Wigner function and phase-space formalism. We examine one- and two-Gaussian polychromatic wavefields.
Euclidean systems include poly- and monochromatic wide-angle optics, acoustics, and also infinite discrete data sets. We use a recently defined Wigner operator and (quasiprobability) distribution function to set up and study the phase-space evolution of these models, subject to differential and difference equations, respectively. Infinite data sets and two-dimensional monochromatic (Helmholtz) fields are thus shown by their Wigner function on a cylinder of direction and location; the Wigner function for polychromatic wavefields has ` c -number' coordinates of (two-dimensional) wavenumber and position.
The paraxial regime of scalar wave optics has the same structure as non-relativistic quantum mechanics, with wavelength taking the place of the Planck constant. The Wigner function is a central tool to explore the phase space of a system; in optics, moreover, it can be produced by purely optical means. In this first part, we present a matrix-based formalism for the study of paraxial optical systems, and apply it to the description of a setup that, as will be seen in the second part, produces the Wigner function.
This tutorial gives an overview of the use of the Wigner function as a tool for modeling optical field propagation. Particular emphasis is placed on the spatial propagation of stationary fields, as well as on the propagation of pulses through dispersive media. In the first case, the Wigner function gives a representation of the field that is similar to a radiance or weight distribution for all the rays in the system, since its arguments are both position and direction. In cases in which the field is paraxial and where the system is described by a simple linear relation in the ray regime, the Wigner function is constant under propagation along rays. An equivalent property holds for optical pulse propagation in dispersive media under analogous assumptions. Several properties and applications of the Wigner function in these contexts are discussed, as is its connection with other common phase-space distributions like the ambiguity function, the spectrogram, and the Husimi, P, Q, and Kirkwood–Rihaczek functions. Also discussed are modifications to the definition of the Wigner function that allow extending the property of conservation along paths to a wider range of problems, including nonparaxial field propagation and pulse propagation within general transparent dispersive media.
The Wigner distribution function is one of the pillars of the phase space formulation of quantum mechanics. Its original formulation may be cast in terms of the unitary representations of the Weyl–Heisenberg group. Following the construction proposed by Wolf and coworkers in constructing the Wigner functions for general Lie groups using the irreducible unitary representations of the groups, we develop here the Wigner functions and Weyl operators on the Euclidean motion group of rank three. We give complete derivations and proofs of their important properties.
We construct a bilinear form with the properties of the Wigner distribution function for a model of finite optics: the multimodal linear waveguide. This is a guide that can carry a finite number of oscillator modes, and sends/reads the data by an equal number of sensors. The Wigner distribution function is a function of the classical observables of position and momentum, as well as the mode content; it provides a visual image corresponding to the (`musical') score of the signal. The dynamical group for this model is SU(2) and the wavefunctions span the space of a finite-dimensional irreducible representation of this group. Phase space is a sphere and the linear optical transformations are: translations along the waveguide, refractive wedges and inclined slabs, which correspond to rotations around the 3-, 1-, and 2-axes, respectively. Coherent and Schrodinger cat states are readily identified.