Topic
Physical optics
About: Physical optics is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 5342 publications have been published within this topic receiving 101388 citations. The topic is also known as: wave optics.
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TL;DR: In this paper, the backscatter cross sections of dihedral corner reflectors in the azimuthal plane for the vertical and horizontal polarizations were analyzed using geometrical optics and physical theory of diffraction.
Abstract: Physical optics (PO) and the physical theory of diffraction (PTD) are used to determine the backscatter cross sections of dihedral corner reflectors in the azimuthal plane for the vertical and horizontal polarizations. The analysis incorporates single, double, and triple reflections; single diffractions; and reflection-diffractions. Two techniques for analyzing these backscatter mechanisms are contrasted. In the first method, geometrical optics (GO) is used in place of physical optics at initial reflections to maintain the planar nature of the reflected wave and subsequently reduce the complexity of the analysis. The objective is to avoid any surface integrations which cannot be performed in closed form. This technique is popular because it is inherently simple and is readily amenable to computer solutions. In the second method, physical optics is used at nearly every reflection to maximize the accuracy of the PTD solution at the expense of a rapid increase in complexity. In this technique, many of the integrations cannot be easily performed, and numerical techniques must be utilized. However, this technique can yield significant improvements in accuracy. In this paper, the induced surface current densities and the resulting cross section patterns are illustrated for these two methods. Experimental measurements confirm the accuracy of the analytical calculations for dihedral corner reflectors with right, acute, and obtuse interior angles.
131 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a new physical-geometric optics hybrid (PGOH) method is developed to compute the scattering and absorption properties of ice particles, which is suitable for studying the optical properties of icicles with arbitrary orientations, complex refractive indices (i.e., particles with significant absorption), and size parameters (proportional to the ratio of particle size to incident wavelength) larger than ∼20.
Abstract: A new physical-geometric optics hybrid (PGOH) method is developed to compute the scattering and absorption properties of ice particles. This method is suitable for studying the optical properties of ice particles with arbitrary orientations, complex refractive indices (i.e., particles with significant absorption), and size parameters (proportional to the ratio of particle size to incident wavelength) larger than ∼20, and includes consideration of the edge effects necessary for accurate determination of the extinction and absorption efficiencies. Light beams with polygon-shaped cross sections propagate within a particle and are traced by using a beam-splitting technique. The electric field associated with a beam is calculated using a beam-tracing process in which the amplitude and phase variations over the wavefront of the localized wave associated with the beam are considered analytically. The geometric-optics near field for each ray is obtained, and the single-scattering properties of particles are calculated from electromagnetic integral equations. The present method does not assume additional physical simplifications and approximations, except for geometric optics principles, and may be regarded as a “benchmark” within the framework of the geometric optics approach. The computational time is on the order of seconds for a single-orientation simulation and is essentially independent of the size parameter. The single-scattering properties of oriented hexagonal ice particles (ice plates and hexagons) are presented. The numerical results are compared with those computed from the discrete-dipole-approximation (DDA) method.
130 citations
TL;DR: The effect of numerical aperture on the fringe spacing in interferometry is analyzed by the use of wave optics and the influence of apodization of the wave front is discussed.
Abstract: The effect of numerical aperture on the fringe spacing in interferometry is analyzed by the use of wave optics. The results are compared with published experimental results, and the influence of apodization of the wave front is discussed. The effects of central obscuration and surface tilt are also considered.
128 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the diffraction integral formula for the lensed wave amplitude using the path integral is derived and a reduction of this formula to the geometric optics approximation in the short wavelength limit along with discussion on the condition that the wave effects become important.
Abstract: This review on “wave optics in gravitational lensing” includes a derivation of the diffraction integral formula for the lensed wave amplitude using the path integral (§2), reduction of this formula to the geometric optics approximation in the short wavelength limit along with discussion on the condition that the wave effects become important (§3), examples of wave effects for a point-mass lens and the fold caustic (§4), and a numerical method of evaluating the diffraction integral (§5).
128 citations
Book•
24 Oct 1996
TL;DR: In this article, a review of elementary Ray Optics is presented, including a single surface and a thin lens in air, and an introduction to primary and secondary Aberrations of a Thin Lens in Air.
Abstract: 1. Rays and the Foundations of Geometrical Optics 2. Review of Elementary Ray Optics 3. Imagery by a Single Surface and a Thin Lens 4. Gaussian Optics 5. Putting It All Together 6. Gaussian Optics of Optical Instruments and Components 7. Introduction to Aberrations 8. Computation of Primary Aberrations 9. Aberrations of a Thin Lens in Air 10. Optical Design Appendix 1-6
127 citations