Symplectic ray tracing based on Hamiltonian optics in gradient-index media

A method based on Hamiltonian optics for ray tracing through gradient-index (GRIN) media is proposed. The ray equation that describes light-ray paths can be written in the form of the Hamiltonian equations. Although the Hamiltonian equations can be numerically calculated using a finite-difference explicit method, deviations from the exact equations are generally inevitable at subsequent time steps. An optical Hamiltonian can be constructed of two independent terms, i.e., one term dependent on position and the other term dependent on momentum. The symplectic integrator is applicable to such a separable optical Hamiltonian system and makes the optical Hamiltonian equations form invariant at each time step of numerical calculations. Accuracies of light-ray paths calculated using the first-order symplectic ray tracing in GRIN lenses approximate those calculated on the basis of the fourth-order Runge-Kutta algorithm, which shows the promising potential of the symplectic-ray-tracing method.