title: Propagation of spatial coherence in fast pulses.
abstract: Diffraction and interferometry with fast pulses are analyzed for the case that the fields are partially correlated in time and in space. This generalizes a previous work [Schoonover, J. Mod. Opt.55, 1541(2008)], where only the temporal correlations of pulsed fields were considered in a Young's interferometer. The meaning of the interferograms is addressed for measurements taken in the near, Fresnel, and far zones of the source. It is shown that single-shot measurements cannot generally be used to infer statistical properties of the source, rather, data averaged over many pulses must be used.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and The Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 405 N. Mathews, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA. rschoono@illinois.edu
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Schoonover
authors.forename: Brynmor J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: Randy A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Bartels
authors.forename: P Scott
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Carney