title: Wave description of geometric modes of a resonator.
abstract: By using both an operator and a geometric argument, we obtain a wave description of geometric modes of a degenerate optical resonator. This is done by considering the propagation of a displaced Gaussian beam inside the resonator. The round-trip Gouy phase, which is independent of the wavelength of the light, determines the properties of the Gaussian eigenmode. The extra freedom in the case of degeneracy allows for the existence of geometric modes.
authors.affiliation: Huygens Laboratorium, Universiteit Leiden, Postbus 9504, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands. jorrit@molphys.leidenuniv.nl
authors.forename: Jorrit
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Visser
authors.forename: Niels J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: Zelders
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nienhuis