Focal shift, optical transfer function, and phase-space representations

The focal shift for a lens of finite value of Fresnel number can be defined in terms of the second moment of the intensity distribution in transverse planes. The connection with the optical transfer function is described. The specification of the focused amplitude in terms of the fractional Fourier transform is discussed, and the connections among the fractional Fourier transform, the Wigner distribution, and the ambiguity function are described, leading to a model for effects of Fresnel number in terms of a rotation in phase space. The uncertainty principle is discussed, including the significance of the beam propagation factor M2 and the width of optical fiber beam modes. Calculation of the moments in terms of the modulus and the phase of the illuminating wave is presented, and the use of the Kaiser-Teager energy operator is also described.     

Wigner distribution and fractional Fourier transform for two-dimensional symmetric optical beams

A useful relationship between the fractional Fourier transform power spectra of a two-dimensional symmetric optical beam, on the one hand, and its Wigner distribution, on the other, is established. This relationship allows a significant simplification of the standard procedure for the reconstruction of the Wigner distribution from the field intensity distributions in the fractional Fourier domains. The Wigner distribution of a symmetric optical beam is analyzed, both in the coherent and in the partially coherent case.     

Anamorphic white light Fourier processor with holographic lenses

Two anamorphic and achromatic Fourier processors were designed and constructed using diffractive and refractive cylindrical lenses. The diffractive lenses are holographic lenses recorded on silver halide material. In both processors the achromatic one-dimensional Fourier transform plane was obtained with two holographic lenses and one refractive cylindrical lens. The image with the same magnification in both directions at the output plane was formed with two different combinations of lenses. The differences between the two processors are analyzed, and in both cases the chromatic aberration in the Fourier plane and in the output plane is evaluated. Even though single cylindrical refractive lenses were used to image in one direction, good results were obtained.     

Proposal for optical implementation of the wigner distribution function

The Wigner distribution function (WDF) offers comprehensive insight into a signal, for it employs both space (or time) and frequency simultaneously. Whenever optical signals are involved, the importance of the WDF is significantly higher because of the diffraction (or dispersion) behavior of optical signals. Novel optical implementations of the WDF and of the inverse Wigner transform are proposed. Both implementations are based on bulk optics elements incorporating joint transform correlator architecture. A similar implementation is derived for the ambiguity function, which is related to the WDF through Fourier transformation.     

Lensless anamorphic Fourier transform hologram recorded with prism systems

A novel configuration for recording a lensless anamorphic Fourier transform hologram of a given object's light distribution is proposed. The method is based on the use of prism anamorphic optical systems coupled with phase cancellation at the hologram plane. Anamorphic systems with cylindrical lenses and prisms are critically evaluated through computer simulations for their suitability in anamorphic Fourier transform holographic configurations. A complete theoretical analysis and experimental demonstration of the recording and reconstruction of a lensless anamorphic Fourier transform hologram are presented.     

Security enhancement of a phase-truncation based image encryption algorithm

The asymmetric cryptosystem, which is based on phase-truncated Fourier transforms (PTFTs), can break the linearity of conventional systems. However, it has been proven to be vulnerable to a specific attack based on iterative Fourier transforms when the two random phase masks are used as public keys to encrypt different plaintexts. An improvement from the asymmetric cryptosystem may be taken by relocating the amplitude values in the output plane. In this paper, two different methods are adopted to realize the amplitude modulation of the output image. The first one is to extend the PTFT-based asymmetrical cryptosystem into the anamorphic fractional Fourier transform domain directly, and the second is to add an amplitude mask in the Fourier plane of the encryption scheme. Some numerical simulations are presented to prove the good performance of the proposed cryptosystems.     

Wigner distribution function applied to twisted Gaussian light propagating in first-order optical systems

A measure for the twist of Gaussian light is expressed in terms of the second-order moments of the Wigner distribution function. The propagation law for these second-order moments between the input plane and the output plane of a first-order optical system is used to express the twist in one plane in terms of moments in the other plane. Although in general the twist in one plane is determined not only by the twist in the other plane but also by other combinations of the moments, several special cases exist for which a direct relationship between the twists can be formulated. Three such cases, for which zero twist is preserved, are considered: (i) propagation between conjugate planes, (ii) adaptation of the signal to the system, and (iii) the case of symplectic Gaussian light.     

Graded-index fibers, Wigner-distribution functions, and the fractional Fourier transform

Two definitions of a fractional Fourier transform have been proposed previously. One is based on the propagation of a wave field through a graded-index medium, and the other is based on rotating a function's Wigner distribution. It is shown that both definitions are equivalent. An important result of this equivalency is that the Wigner distribution of a wave field rotates as the wave field propagates through a quadratic graded-index medium. The relation with ray-optics phase space is discussed.     

Generalized joint fractional fourier transform correlators: a compact approach

Fractional correlation was introduced recently. We generalize the architecture of a joint (Fourier) transform correlator (JTC) to achieve the joint fractional (Fourier) transform correlator (JFrTC) such that fractional correlation can be obtained. Here the Fourier transform in the JTC is replaced by the fractional Fourier transform, and four different JFrTC architectures can be implemented. The mathematical derivations for these JFrTC architectures are given, together with the simulation verifications. The JFrTC can provide a correlation signal similar to a delta function but with a small discrimination ratio, such that it is insensitive to additive noise. In a conventional JTC the distance between the two desired correlation signals at the output plane is fixed and depends on the distance between the input and the reference signals. However, with a given fractional order and an additional phase mask the separation distance between the two correlation signals at the output plane of a JFrTC can be larger or smaller than that of a JTC. This property is useful for the applications of real-time target tracking. Unlike in a previous approach [Appl. Opt. 36, 7402 (1997)], we need only two fractional Fourier transformations instead of three to achieve fractional correlation.     

Comment on "double-lens extended fractional Fourier transform"

An inadequate interpretation in an article [Appl. Opt. 45, 8315 (2006)] on complex order extended fractional Fourier transform is pointed out. We also give our analysis of the optical system and demonstrate that it can implement only the fractional Fourier transform with a quadratic phase modulation at the output plane.     

Ordered moments and relation to Radon transform of Wigner quasiprobability

Abstract

It is shown that the symmetrically ordered moments of boson operators for a single boson mode can be reconstructed from the corresponding moments of the Radon transform of the Wigner quasiprobability for discrete sets of equidistant inequivalent angles which solve the circle division problem. This reconstruction is sometimes simpler than the corresponding reconstruction of the normally ordered moments where one first has to multiply the Radon transform with Hermite polynomials in comparison to power functions for symmetrically ordered moments and then to integrate. The connection to the reconstruction for the general class of s-ordered moments is established. The transition from discrete sets of angles to integration over angles via averaging over the discrete angles is made. The results are applied to displaced squeezed thermal states. It is shown how the ordered moments for these states can be explicitly found from the calculated Radon transform of the Wigner quasiprobability. The obtained formulae for these moments possess independent interest since they contribute to the discussion of the properties of the most general class of states with quasiprobabilities of Gaussian form with many possible special cases as, for example, squeezed coherent states and squeezed thermal states.     

Fractional Fourier transforms, symmetrical lens systems, and their cardinal planes

We study the relation between optical lens systems that perform a fractional Fourier transform (FRFT) with the geometrical cardinal planes. We demonstrate that lens systems symmetrical with respect to the central plane provide an exact FRFT link between the input and output planes. Moreover, we show that the fractional order of the transform has real values between 0 and 2 when light propagation is produced between principal planes and antiprincipal planes, respectively. Finally, we use this new point of view to design an optical lens system that provides FRFTs with variable fractional order in the range (0,2) without moving the input and output planes.     

Space-variant simultaneous detection of several objects by the use of multiple anamorphic fractional-Fourier-transform filters

A fractional correlator that is based on the anamorphic fractional Fourier transform is defined. This new, to our knowledge, correlator has been extended to work with multiple filters. The novelty introduced by the suggested system is the possibility of the simultaneous detection of several objects in different parts of the input scene (when anamorphic optics are dealt with), thereby permitting an independent degree of space invariance in two perpendicular directions. Computer experiments as well as experimental optical implementation are presented.     

True beam smoothing in the fractional fourier transform domain

Abstract

The design of a diffractive optical element (DOE) for true beam smoothing in the fractional Fourier transform domain is described. Based on the Fresnel integrals, the intensity distribution on the output plane is calculated accurately and the discretization error of the spherical phase factor is avoided. The ‘fine design' of the DOE for true beam smoothing is completed with the sampling interval chosen as half of the traditional sampling interval. Simulation results show that the intensity at any point on the output plane fully meets the required demands, not just those sampling points used in the optimization.     

Optical sectioning for optical scanning holography using phase-space filtering with Wigner distribution functions

We propose a novel optical sectioning method for optical scanning holography, which is performed in phase space by using Wigner distribution functions together with the fractional Fourier transform. The principle of phase-space optical sectioning for one-dimensional signals, such as slit objects, and two-dimensional signals, such as rectangular objects, is first discussed. Computer simulation results are then presented to substantiate the proposed idea.     

Chirp filtering in the fractional Fourier domain

In the Wigner domain of a one-dimensional function, a certain chirp term represents a rotated line delta function. On the other hand, a fractional Fourier transform (FRT) can be associated with a rotation of the Wigner-distribution function by an angle connected with the FRT order. Thus with the FRT tool a chirp and a delta function can be transformed one into the other. Taking the chirp as additive noise, the FRT is used for filtering the line delta function in the appropriate fractional Fourier domain. Experimental filtering results for a Gaussian input function, which is modulated by an additive chirp noise, are shown. Excellent agreement between experiments and computer simulations is achieved.     

Kurtosis parameter K of arbitrary electromagnetic beams propagating through non-Kolmogorov turbulence

General analytical formulae for the kurtosis parameters K (K parameters) of the arbitrary electromagnetic (AE) beams propagating through non-Kolmogorov turbulence are derived, and according to the unified theory of polarization and coherence, the effect of degree of polarization (DOP) of an electromagnetic beam on the K parameter is studied. The analytical formulae can be given by the second-order moments and fourth-order moments of the Wigner distribution function for AE beams at source plane, the two turbulence quantities relating to the spatial power spectrum, and the propagation distance. Our results can also be extended to the arbitrary beams and the arbitrary spatial power spectra of Kolmogorov turbulence or non-Kolmogorov turbulence. Taking the stochastic electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model (SEGSM) beam as an example, the numerical examples indicate that the K parameters of a SEGSM beam in non-Kolmogorov turbulence depend on propagation distance, the beam parameters and turbulence parameters. The K parameter of a SEGM beam is more sensitive to effect of turbulence with smaller inner scale and generalized exponent parameter. A non-polarized light has the strongest ability of resisting turbulence (ART), however, a fully polarized SEGSM beam has the poorest ART.     

Generalizing, optimizing, and inventing numerical algorithms for the fractional Fourier, Fresnel, and linear canonical transforms

By use of matrix-based techniques it is shown how the space-bandwidth product (SBP) of a signal, as indicated by the location of the signal energy in the Wigner distribution function, can be tracked through any quadratic-phase optical system whose operation is described by the linear canonical transform. Then, applying the regular uniform sampling criteria imposed by the SBP and linking the criteria explicitly to a decomposition of the optical matrix of the system, it is shown how numerical algorithms (employing interpolation and decimation), which exhibit both invertibility and additivity, can be implemented. Algorithms appearing in the literature for a variety of transforms (Fresnel, fractional Fourier) are shown to be special cases of our general approach. The method is shown to allow the existing algorithms to be optimized and is also shown to permit the invention of many new algorithms.     

Radon transform and pattern functions in quantum tomography

Abstract

The two-dimensional Radon transform of the Wigner quasiprobability is introduced in canonical form and the functions playing a role in its inversion are discussed. The transformation properties of this Radon transform with respect to displacement and squeezing of states are studied and it is shown that the latter is equivalent to a symplectic transformation of the variables of the Radon transform with the contragredient matrix to the transformation of the variables in the Wigner quasiprobability. The reconstruction of the density operator from the Radon transform and the direct reconstruction of its Fock-state matrix elements and of its normally ordered moments are discussed. It is found that for finite-order moments the integration over the angle can be reduced to a finite sum over a discrete set of angles. The reconstruction of the Fock-state matrix elements from the normally ordered moments leads to a new representation of the pattern functions by convergent series over even or odd Hermite polynomials which is appropriate for practical calculations. The structure of the pattern functions as first derivatives of the products of normalizable and non-normalizable eigenfunctions to the number operator is considered from the point of view of this new representation.