A peculiarity of diffraction measurements using a Gaussian laser beam

Numerical modelling of the Gaussian beam diffraction by a wire near the Fraunhofer limit is presented. Two cases are considered: the case of the wire being on the axis of the beam and the case of the wire being off-axis. For the case where the wire is on the axis, the displacements of the diffracted minima are calculated. For the off-axis case, the changes in the positions of the maxima and minima and the power density are calculated. The conditions are determined at which the measurements made using a Gaussian beam can be calculated using the formula for plane waves. This work arises in connection with research being performed into the Doppler spectrum of big particles.