Pseudo-modal expansions for generating random electromagnetic beams

Abstract

We derive two pseudo-modal expansions that provide insight into the structure of stationary electromagnetic sources and can be used for their physical realization and in computer simulations. Both expansions are derived from the vectorial version of Bochner’s theorem of functional analysis. The first expansion employs the incoherent superposition of two completely polarized fields, while the second is based on the incoherent sum of three polarized fields. We generate, in simulation, two random electromagnetic beams from the literature using both expansions and compare the results to theory to validate our work. The primary utility of this research is twofold: in optical simulations involving partially coherent, partially polarized light beams and in the design/validation of new random electromagnetic sources.