Propagation and Interference of Vector Plane Waves
Abstract
The Navy has an interest in the free-space propagation of electromagnetic waves from radio frequencies to optical frequencies. Mathematically, these waves are generally represented as a vector in the full three-dimensional space. In many cases, simplified scalar analyses can be used to successfully model the beam propagation. In other cases, however, especially where the polarization of the beam is important, the scalar approach is insufficient and a more complete treatment - a vector approach - must be applied in order to accurately predict propagation.\par A critical aspect of either approach is to find a proper model for the source of the waves and, further, to find a model for propagation that is both physically accurate and mathematically tractable. To this end a well-known approach is the so-called angular-spectrum representation in which the radiation emitted by a source is modeled as a collection of simple plane waves of various strengths and propagating in various directions. However, in the case of a vector approach the plane waves must also include various states of polarization. Unfortunately, the inclusion of polarization in the angular spectrum approach is not well studied in the literature. The purpose of this report is to lay the foundation for a vector angular-spectrum representation theory by calculating and summarizing the relevant properties of vector plane waves. In addition to understanding their propagation properties, it is also necessary to understand how these waves interfere since, in the end, it is total power at a particular downrange position that is often of most interest. While I was unable to detect overwinters with these tools, several important observations were made regarding fire tracking and emergence. From these results it should be possible to automate new and resuming fire detection.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 03, 2023
- Accession Number
- AD1212329
Entities
People
- Daniel V. Nickel
- Frank Bucholtz
- Jonathan W Nichols
- Joseph M. Singley
Organizations
- United States Naval Research Laboratory