title: Vectorial structure of nonparaxial electromagnetic beams.
abstract: A representation of the general solution of the Maxwell equations is proposed in terms of the plane-wave spectrum of the electromagnetic field. In this representation the electric field solution is written as a sum of two terms that are orthogonal to each other at the far field: One is transverse to the propagation axis, and the magnetic field associated with the other is also transverse. The concept of the so-called closest field to a given beam is introduced and applied to the well-known linearly polarized Gaussian beam.
authors.affiliation: Department of Optics, Faculty of Physics, Complutense University, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Martínez-Herrero
authors.forename: P M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Mejías
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bosch
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carnicer