Expand this Topic clickable element to expand a topic
Skip to content
Optica Publishing Group

Maxwell equations and the k function

Not Accessible

Your library or personal account may give you access

Abstract

We use a general solution to the eikonal equation to define generalized coordinates in terms of which the Maxwell equations are then cast. These coordinates are then used to obtain expressions for the electric and magnetic field vectors and the Poynting vector. An arbitrary vector function V is introduced that is subject to certain side conditions derived in this process. The k function, the arbitrary function that arises in the solution of the eikonal equation, contains only information descriptive of the geometry of a wave-front train. The vector function V contains information pertaining to the physics of the propagating energy that is distinct from the geometry of the wave-front train.

© 2000 Optical Society of America

Full Article  |  PDF Article
More Like This
Refraction of the k function at spherical surfaces

Orestes N. Stavroudis
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 12(8) 1805-1811 (1995)

Refracting the k-function: Stavroudis’s solution to the eikonal equation for multielement optical systems

John A. Hoffnagle and David L. Shealy
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 28(6) 1312-1321 (2011)

Cited By

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Cited by links are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Equations (97)

You do not have subscription access to this journal. Equations are available to subscribers only. You may subscribe either as an Optica member, or as an authorized user of your institution.

Contact your librarian or system administrator
or
Login to access Optica Member Subscription

Select as filters


Select Topics Cancel
© Copyright 2024 | Optica Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved