[OPTICAL REVIEW Vol. 5, No. 1 (1998) 27-29]
Is the Van Cittert-Zernike Theorem Applicable to Spatially Incoherent Broadband Spectral Source?
Yoshihiro OHTSUKA
Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060 Japan
(Received September 22, 1997; Accepted November 4, 1997)
This paper deals with the propagation law of mutual intensity and cross-spectral density of the light emitted from an extended broadband spectral source that is spatially incoherent. The mutual intensity of light does not obey the same mathematical formalism as the Van Cittert-Zernike theorem applicable to quasi-monochromatic light, although the cross-spectral density of light does in the propagation zone of the Fresnel diffraction region.
Key words : mutual intensity, cross-spectral density, spatially incoherent broadband spectral source, propagation law, Van Cittert-Zernike theorem