Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 13, 2026

Measurement of X-ray Beam Coherence along Multiple Directions Using 2-D Checkerboard Phase Grating
Published on: October 11, 2016
Effects of coherence on anisotropic electromagnetic Gaussian-Schell model beams on propagation
Hua Wang1, Xiangzhao Wang, Aijun Zeng
1Information Optics Laboratory, Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 800-211, Jiading, Shanghai 201800, China. hannaiwanghua@yahoo.com.cn
Abstract:
An analytical formula for the cross-spectral density matrix of the electric field of anisotropic electromagnetic Gaussian-Schell model beams propagating in free space is derived by using a tensor method. The effects of coherence on those beams are studied. It is shown that two anisotropic stochastic electromagnetic beams that propagate from the source plane z=0 into the half-space z>0 may have different beam shapes (i.e., spectral density) and states of polarization in the half-space, even though they have the same beam shape and states of polarization in the source plane. This fact is due to a difference in the coherence properties of the field in the source plane.
Related Concept Videos
Propagation Speed of Electromagnetic Waves
Plane Electromagnetic Waves I
The EM field is assumed to be a...
Electromagnetic Waves in Matter
Consider the electromagnetic wave passing through a dielectric medium. In such a case, Maxwell's equations get modified. In Ampere's law, ε0 , the dielectric permittivity of free space is replaced with ε, the permittivity of dielectric. Also, the vacuum permeability μ0 is replaced by the permeability of the medium, μ.
Furthermore, the...
Propagation of Waves
Consider a scenario where a wave propagates from a string of low linear mass density to a string of high linear mass density. In such a case, the reflected wave is out of phase with respect to the incident wave, however the...
Electromagnetic Wave Equation
However, although electric and magnetic fields were first introduced as mathematical constructs to simplify the description of mutual forces between charges, a natural question emerges from Maxwell's equations: What...
Gauss's Law in Dielectrics

