Vector mode analysis of a young interferometer

Opt Lett. 2006 Apr 1;31(7):858-60. doi: 10.1364/ol.31.000858.

Abstract

It is proved that, when the vector modal theory of coherence is applied to a pair of fixed points, exact results are obtained for the mode structure. In particular, it is shown that the field radiated by the pinholes of a Young interferometer can always be represented by the incoherent superposition of no more than four perfectly correlated and polarized modes. The role of such modes is illustrated through a simple example.