title: Paraxial group.
abstract: We introduce the paraxial group, the group of symmetries of the paraxial-wave equation and its action on paraxial beams. The transformations, elements of the group, are used to obtain closed-form expressions for the propagation of any paraxial beam through misaligned ABCD optical systems. We prove that any paraxial beam is form-invariant under these transformations.
authors.affiliation: California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA. bandres@caltech.edu
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bandres
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Guizar-Sicairos