Theory of partially coherent electromagnetic fields in the space-frequency domain

We construct the coherent-mode representation for fluctuating, statistically stationary electromagnetic fields. The modes are shown to be spatially fully coherent in the sense of a recently introduced spectral degree of electromagnetic coherence. We also prove that the electric cross-spectral density tenser can be rigorously expressed as a correlation tenser averaged over an appropriate ensemble of strictly monochromatic vectorial wave functions. The formalism is demonstrated for partially polarized, partially coherent Gaussian Schell-model beams, but the theory applies to arbitrary random electromagnetic fields and can find applications in radiation and propagation and in inverse problems. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.