Modified hollow Gaussian beam and its paraxial propagation

A model named modified hollow Gaussian beam (HGB) is proposed to describe a dark hollow beam with adjustable beam spot size, central dark size and darkness factor. In this modified model, both the beam spot size and the central dark size will be convergent to finite constants as the beam order approaches infinity, which are much different from that of the previous unmodified model, where the beam spot size and the central dark size will not be convergent as the beam order approaches infinity. The dependences of the propagation factor of modified and unmodified HGBs on the beam order are found to be the same. Based on the Collins integral, analytical formulas for the modified HGB propagating through aligned and misaligned optical system are derived. Some numerical examples are given.     

Generalized beam propagation factors of truncated partially coherent cosine-Gaussian and cosh-Gaussian beams

Based on the method of truncated second-order moments, the analytical expressions of the generalized beam propagation factor for truncated partially coherent cosine-Gaussian and cosh-Gaussian beams are derived. The beam propagation factors of the truncated partially coherent cosine-Gaussian and cosh-Gaussian beams depend on the acentric parameter, the truncation parameter, and the coherent parameter. According to the derived expressions, the beam propagation factors are illustrated and analyzed with numerical examples, and the influences of the different parameters on the beam propagation factors are also discussed in detail.     

Propagation properties of anomalous hollow beams in a turbulent atmosphere

Propagation of circular and elliptical anomalous hollow beams in a turbulent atmosphere is investigated in detail. Based on the extended Huygens–Fresnel integral, analytical formulae for the average irradiance of circular and elliptical anomalous hollow beams propagating in a turbulent atmosphere are derived. The irradiance and spreading properties of circular and elliptical anomalous hollow beams in a turbulent atmosphere and in free space are studied numerically. It is found that circular and elliptical anomalous hollow beams at short propagation distance in turbulent atmosphere have similar propagation properties to those of free space, while at long propagation distance, circular and elliptical anomalous hollow beams eventually become circular Gaussian beams in a turbulent atmosphere, which is much different from their propagation properties in free space. The conversion from an anomalous hollow beam to a circular Gaussian beam becomes quicker and the beam spot spreads more rapidly for a larger structure constant, a shorter wavelength and a smaller waist size of the initial beam.     

Analytical formulas for a circular or non-circular flat-topped beam propagating through an apertured paraxial optical system

Propagation of a flat-topped beam of circular or non-circular (rectangular or elliptical) symmetry through an apertured optical system is investigated. By expanding the hard aperture function as a finite sum of complex Gaussian functions, some approximate analytical propagation formulas are derived for a flat-topped beam of circular or non-circular (rectangular or elliptical) symmetry propagating through an apertured paraxial general astigmatic (GA) optical system or an apertured paraxial misaligned stigmatic (ST) optical system. The derived formulas are very fast to compute. The results obtained by using the approximate analytical expressions are in a good agreement with those obtained by direct numerical integration. The present analytical formulas provide a convenient and effective way for studying the propagation and transformation of a circular or non-circular flat-topped beam through an apertured general optical system.     

Off-axis Gaussian Schell-model beam and partially coherent laser array beam in a turbulent atmosphere

The propagation of an off-axis Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beam in a turbulent atmosphere is investigated based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel integral formula. Analytical formulae for the cross-spectral density and corresponding partially coherent complex curvature tensor of an off-axis GSM beam propagating in a turbulent atmosphere are derived. Based on these formulae, the propagation properties of such kind of beam in a turbulent atmosphere are investigated in detail. Furthermore, the methods are extended to investigate the propagation properties of a partially coherent laser array beam in a turbulent atmosphere. The properties of an off-axis GSM beam and a partially coherent laser array beam in a turbulent atmosphere are closely related with the beam parameters and the structure constant of the turbulent atmosphere.     

Vectorial structures of non-paraxial linearly polarized Gaussian beam and their beam propagation factors

Based on the vectorial structure of non-paraxial electromagnetic beam and non-paraxial vectorial moment theory, the relationship of the beam waists, the divergence angles and the beam propagation factors among non-paraxial linearly polarized Gaussian beam, its TE and TM terms have been presented, respectively. The analytical beam propagation factors are given and further discussed at the highly non-paraxial case. The maximum divergence angles in the x-direction of non-paraxial linearly polarized Gaussian beam, its TE and TM terms are all 54.7°, and those in the y-direction are limited to be 63.4°, 67.7° and 39.2°, respectively. As TE and TM terms are orthogonal and can be detached at the far field, the potential applications of the isolated TE and TM terms are deserved further investigation.     

Analytical vectorial structure of non-paraxial nonsymmetrical vector Gaussian beam in the far field

Based on the vectorial structure of non-paraxial electromagnetic beam and the method of stationary phase, the analytical TE and TM terms of non-paraxial nonsymmetrical vector Gaussian beam in the far field are presented. According to the analytical electromagnetic fields of the TE and TM terms, the energy flux distributions of the whole beam, its TE and TM terms are investigated. Moreover, the influences of non-symmetries on the energy flux distributions of the whole beam, its TE and TM terms are also analyzed, respectively. This research reveals the internal vectorial structure of non-paraxial laser beam in the far field and is useful to the propagation of non-paraxial laser beam.     

The beam propagation factors and the kurtosis parameters of a Lorentz beam

Based on the second-order moments, the beam propagation factors and the kurtosis parameters of a Lorentz beam have been investigated. The M² value of a Lorentz beam is verified to be . The analytical expressions of the kurtosis parameters have been derived. The kurtosis parameter varies upon the propagation, and it is decided by two ratios z/z_rx and z/z_ry. The kurtosis parameter versus the two ratios z/z_rx and z/z_ry is plotted and discussed in detail. This work is of benefit to the practical application of laser sources that produce highly divergent beams.     

Propagation of non-paraxial nonsymmetrical vector Gaussian beam

A model of non-paraxial nonsymmetrical vector Gaussian beam has been presented in this paper. Based on the property of Fourier transform and the non-paraxial vector moment theory of light beam propagation, the analytical propagation of this model beam has been systemically investigated. The results reveal that both the transversal beam widths follow a simplest hyperbolic propagating law. The analytical formulae are discussed at highly non-paraxial case, paraxial case, and special cases, respectively. The non-symmetry of the initial transversal amplitudes affects slightly on the propagation. While, the influences of non-symmetry caused by the initial transversal Gaussian half widths on propagation are remarkable. This research is helpful to evaluate the propagation of semiconductor laser beams.     

Propagation of a hollow Gaussian beam through a paraxial misaligned optical system

Based on the generalized diffraction integral formula for treating the propagation of a laser beam through a paraxial misaligned optical system in the cylindrical coordinate system, we obtain an analytical formula for a hollow Gaussian beam passing through a paraxial misaligned optical system. Furthermore, we also obtain the approximate analytical formula for a hollow Gaussian beam passing through a paraxial circularly apertured misaligned optical system by expanding the hard aperture function into a finite sum of complex Gaussian functions. As a numerical example, the propagation properties a hollow Gaussian beam through a misaligned thin lens are studied numerically.     

Analytical structure of an apertured vector Gaussian beam in the far field

Based on the angular spectrum representation of the Maxwell’s equations and the complex Gaussian expansion of the aperture function, the structure of an apertured vector Gaussian beam in the far field is presented in the integral form. By means of the method of stationary phase, the analytical vectorial structures are obtained. According to the analytical expressions, the characteristics of vectorial structure of an apertured Gaussian beam are investigated in the far field. The influence of a linearly polarized angle on the vectorial structure is also studied in the far field. This research provides a novel approach to further comprehend the vectorial property of an apertured Gaussian beam.     

Analytical formula for a decentered elliptical Gaussian beam propagating in a turbulent atmosphere

Analytical formulas for the average intensity and decentered parameter of a decentered elliptical Gaussian beam (DEGB) propagating in a turbulent atmosphere are derived in a tensor form. The propagation properties of a DEGB in a turbulent atmosphere are investigated in detail, and found to be different from that in free space. Furthermore, as an application example, we investigate the propagation of a decentered elliptical flat-topped beam (DEFB) by expressing its electric field as a finite sum of DEGBs in a turbulent atmosphere. The properties of a DEGB or a DEFB in a turbulent atmosphere are closely related with the beam’s parameters and the structure constant of the turbulent atmosphere.     

The symmetry properties of stable polynomial Gaussian beam profiles

We consider the symmetry properties of polynomial Gaussian beam profiles (intensity distributions) that remain stable during propagation, apart from being scaled and possibly rotated. These beams are expressed as special linear combinations of the Laguerre-Gaussian modes. Two kinds of symmetries are present: discreet rotational symmetries and mirror symmetries. The symmetry properties are shown to depend on the particular subset of Laguerre-Gaussian modes that is used to construct the stable beam. We demonstrate the symmetry properties of a few examples of stable beams through numerical simulations.     

Off-Axis Astigmatic Gaussian Beam Combination Beyond the Paraxial Approximation

Taking the off-axis astigmatic Gaussian beam combination as an example, the beam-combination concept is extended to the nonparaxial regime. The closed-form propagation expressions for coherent and incoherent combinations of nonparaxial off-axis astigmatic Gaussian beams with rectangular geometry are derived and illustrated with numerical examples. It is shown that the intensity distributions of the resulting beam depend on the combination scheme and beam parameters in general, and in the paraxial approximation （i.e., for the small f-parameter） our results reduce to the paraxial ones.     

Systematic engineering of paraxial coherent fields with spherical optical systems

The concept of the Iwasawa decomposition [1] of ABCD ray-matrices is used for a systematic calculation of field distributions appearing in spherical optical systems. Examples of optimization for applications are calculated.     

Stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam and its propagation

The recent theory formulated in terms of the 2×2 cross-spectral density matrix and the propagation law of cross-spectral density are employed to investigate the stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam and its propagation characterization. Based on these, we derived the general formulae for the intensity distribution, degree of coherence and degree of polarization for stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam while propagating in free space. It is shown that the intensity distribution and the degree of polarization of the stochastic electromagnetic vortex beam propagating in free space depend on the correlation length and the topological charge of the vortex beam.     

Focusing of Partially Coherent Vortex Beams by an Aperture Lens

The focusing properties of partially coherent vortex wave fields are studied. Expressions are derived for the intensity distribution and the degree of coherence near the geometrical focus. It is found that the size of coherence vortex dark core in the focal region depends on the topological charges and normalized coherence lengths. It is found that the desired vortex dark core near the geometrical focus can be generated by choosing appropriate values of parameters. The degree of coherence possesses a pair of phase singularities regions in the geometrical focus neighbourhood.     

Vectorial Nonparaxial Four-Petal Gaussian Beams and Their Propagation in Free Space

The vectorial nonparaxial four-petal Gaussian beam （FPGB） is introduced. The closed-form propagation expressions for the free-space propagation of FPGBs are derived and their more general applicable advantages are illustrated analytically and numerically. Some special interesting cases, in particular the paraxial one, are discussed. It is found that the parameter f = 1/kwo with the k being the wave number and wo being the waist width plays a crucial role in determining the nonparaxiallity of FPGBs. For small values of the f parameter the paraxial approximation is allowable. In the nonparaxial regime the beam order n additionally affects the vectorial and nonparaxial behaviour of FPGBs.