Progress in Optics 37

Hardbound. Volume XXXVII in this renowned series presents six articles describing theoretical and experimental research of current interest in optics.The first article is a review of some of the important applications of the Wigner distribution function in optics and optoelectronics. This is useful in the characterization of optical systems and beams, in the coupling between light sources and waveguides, and in nonlinear and ultrafast optics. Although the article focuses on the theoretical aspects, numerical simulations and experiments are also discussed.The second article examines the mathematical foundations and the applicability of Kramers-Kronig relations to data inversion in linear and nonlinear optical spectroscopy. The subject of phase retrieval by use of the maximum entropy model is discussed in connection with reflection spectroscopy and nonlinear optical processes. Sum rules for linear and nonlinear optical constants are also presented.