title: The van Cittert-Zernike theorem for electromagnetic fields.
abstract: The van Cittert-Zernike theorem, well known for the scalar optical fields, is generalized for the case of vector electromagnetic fields. The deduced theorem shows that the degree of coherence of the electromagnetic field produced by the completely incoherent vector source increases on propagation whereas the degree of polarization remains unchanged. The possible application of the deduced theorem is illustrated by an example of optical simulation of partially coherent and partially polarized secondary source with the controlled statistical properties.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Autónoma de Puebla, Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas, Puebla 72000, Mexico. andreyo@fcfm.buap.mx
authors.forename: Andrey S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ostrovsky
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Martínez-Niconoff
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Martínez-Vara
authors.forename: Miguel A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Olvera-Santamaría