Abstract

A study of the changes in the spectrum and of the time intensity of the diffraction pattern of nonstationary light sources, started earlier [ J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 12, 1519 ( 1995)] is completed. The evolution of the spectrum for the off-axis points of the diffraction pattern from a source with a Gaussian spectrum is discussed, and the reason for the red and blue shifts of the spectral maximum is found analytically. The maximum values of the shifts are estimated. It is shown that the normalized spatial distribution of energy of the diffraction pattern from a time Gaussian-shaped pulsed source coincides exactly with the normalized spatial distribution of intensity from a stationary source with Gaussian spectral density and the same bandwidth. The influence of the spectral changes on the time intensity of the diffraction pattern for the Gaussian-shaped pulsed source is also discussed. The values of the diffraction angle are calculated when a slit splits the Gaussian-shaped pulse into two separate pulses. Moreover, it is shown that from these values of the diffraction angle two separate pulses can recombine.

© 1996 Optical Society of America

Far-zone diffraction of polychromatic and nonstationary plane waves from a slit

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