Abstract
In the literature on coherence theory one almost invariably specifies any correlations that may exist in the source region by means of a correlation function of the field variable. However, when the source is a primary one, it seems more appropriate to specify the correlations by means of a correlation function of the source variable. In the present paper some basic formulas are derived, relating to coherence and radiant intensity in fields generated by primary sources in terms of a source correlation function. A number of results are obtained that exhibit the connection between the “field description” and the “source description.” Several illustrative examples are given relating to Gaussian-correlated sources and to Lambertian sources.
© 1978 Optical Society of America
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