Parametric characterization of general partially coherent beams propagating through ABCD optical-systems

© 1991 The Optical Society of America. The research leading to this paper was supported by the Empresa Nacional de Óptica, S.A. (ENOSA). J. Serna has a grant from the Programa Nacional de Formación de Personal Investigador. We also thank an anonymous referee for his suggestions for simplifying the proofs.Within the formalism of the Wigner distribution function, a new parameter is proposed, which characterizes arbitrary tridimensional partially coherent beams and is invariant through ABCD optical systems. The relationship between such a parameter and the bidimensional concept of beam quality is analyzed. An absolute lower bound that the new parameter can reach is also shown.Depto. de ÓpticaFac. de Ciencias FísicasTRUEEmpresa Nacional de Óptica, S.A. (ENOSA)Programa Nacional de Formación de Personal Investigadorpu