Abstract

Spectral correlation properties of the field within a primary delta-correlated, scalar, spherical source are investigated. It is found that the field at any two source points is correlated over distances of the order of a wavelength, at least in the case when one of the points coincides with the center of the source. In the asymptotic limit when the radius of the source is large compared with the wavelength, the field distribution becomes statistically homogeneous and the degree of spectral coherence at any two source points is given by (sin kr)/kr, where r is the distance between the two points and k is the wave number.

© 1986 Optical Society of America

Field correlations within a Bessel-correlated spherical source

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