Abstract

It is shown that the negative values of the Wigner distribution function in classical optics are a consequence of the phase-space interference among the Gaussian beams into which an arbitrary light distribution (or a superposition of light distributions) can be decomposed. These elementary Gaussian beams partition the phase space in wave optics in adjacent, interacting, finite-area cells, in contrast to geometrical optics, where the phase space is continuous and a light beam can be decomposed into a number of perfectly localized, non-interacting rays.

© 2000 Optical Society of America

Phase-space distributions for high-frequency fields

M. A. Alonso and G. W. Forbes
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 17(12) 2288-2300 (2000)

Optical phase space, Wigner representation, and invariant quality parameters

R. Simon and N. Mukunda
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 17(12) 2440-2463 (2000)

Closed-form solution for the Wigner phase-space distribution function for diffuse reflection and small-angle scattering in a random medium

Harold T. Yura, Lars Thrane, and Peter E. Andersen
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 17(12) 2464-2474 (2000)

Application of the Wigner distribution function to partially coherent light

Martin J. Bastiaans
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 3(8) 1227-1238 (1986)

Analysis of the moiré effect by use of the Wigner distribution function

Markus Testorf
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 17(12) 2536-2542 (2000)