Abstract

Several theorems are known concerning symmetry relations between monochromatic wave fields that propagate either into the same half-space (z > 0) or into complementary half-spaces (z > 0 and z < 0) and that are complex conjugates of each other in some cross-sectional plane z = constant. The theorems derived up to now apply only to wave fields that do not contain inhomogeneous (evanescent) components. In the present paper two of the main theorems are generalized to a wider class of fields. It is found that homogeneous and inhomogeneous components of a wave field have quite different symmetry properties under phase conjugation. The results are illustrated by a discussion of the behavior of plane waves, both homogeneous and evanescent ones, which undergo phase conjugation followed by transmission or by reflection.

© 1985 Optical Society of America

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