Partially coherent nonplanar sources

Models for partially coherent spherical and cylindrical sources are presented, based on a decomposition into coherent modes of their cross-spectral densities. The primary coherence characteristics are computed both at the source surface and during propagation. Many examples with varying characteristics can be derived from the general expressions. Among others, an intriguing aspect of partially coherent spherical scalar sources is that, with a suitable choice of the weights of their component modes, the radiated field exhibits perfect radial coherence along any direction, while angular coherence is only partial. For the case of cylindrical symmetry, the study has been conducted for both scalar and vector sources. Interesting effects have been found concerning the evolution of the degree of coherence and the degree of polarization of the radiated field upon propagation.