Open AccessStable aggregates of flexible elements give a stronger link between rays and waves
Author(s) -
Miguel A. Alonso,
G. W. Forbes
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.10.000728
Subject(s) - optics , physics , gaussian , wave propagation , field (mathematics) , simple (philosophy) , ptychography , statistical physics , wavefront , computer science , computational physics , diffraction , mathematics , quantum mechanics , philosophy , epistemology , pure mathematics
A recently proposed ray-based method for wave propagation is used to provide a meaningful criterion for the validity of rays in wave theory. This method assigns a Gaussian contribution to each ray in order to estimate the field. Such contributions are inherently flexible. By means of a simple example, it is shown that superior field estimates can result when the contributions are no longer forced to evolve like parabasal beamlets.