Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Measurement of X-ray Beam Coherence along Multiple Directions Using 2-D Checkerboard Phase Grating
Published on: October 11, 2016
Diffraction of paraxial partially coherent fields by planar obstacles in the Wigner representation
1The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14607, USA. alonso@optics.rochester.edu
Abstract:
The free-space propagation of paraxial, partially coherent stationary fields can be described in a simple and intuitive way through the use of the Wigner function. In this context, this function plays the role of a generalized radiance that is constant along straight lines or rays. The effect of diffraction by transverse planar opaque obstacles or apertures is considered here for this representation, and a simple analytic approximate formula is given for the case when the incident field is quasi-homogeneous, at least in the neighborhood of the obstacle's edges. In this result, diffraction is accounted for by including rays emanating from the obstacle's edges.
More Related Videos
08:44Measurements of Long-range Electronic Correlations During Femtosecond Diffraction Experiments Performed on Nanocrystals of Buckminsterfullerene
Published on: August 22, 2017
09:04Lens-free Video Microscopy for the Dynamic and Quantitative Analysis of Adherent Cell Culture
Published on: February 23, 2018
Related Concept Videos
Interference and Diffraction
Plane Electromagnetic Waves I
The EM field is assumed to be a...
X-ray Crystallography
Diffraction
Diffraction is the change in the direction of travel experienced by an electromagnetic wave when it encounters a physical barrier whose dimensions are comparable to those of the wavelength of the light. X-rays are electromagnetic radiation with wavelengths about as long as the distance between neighboring...
Determination of Crystal Structures
The de Broglie Wavelength
Gauss's Law: Planar Symmetry