Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-laser-science-and-quantum-information-processing-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/2/c/solution

Free propagation is convolution with a chirp, . The convolution theorem therefore turns it into multiplication by its Fourier transform. Complete the square:
The Gaussian integral then gives
Thus the wavevector-dependent phase is
up to an overall phase convention; after removing the carrier it is . This also follows from .
Normalization qualification: the source keeps a two-dimensional-style prefactor while integrating over only one transverse coordinate. With its literal , there is an additional -independent factor, rather than solely a unit-modulus multiplier. A properly normalized one-dimensional Fresnel propagator has , which cancels the square-root factor above and makes propagation a pure Fourier-domain phase. For example, the literal source kernel multiplies a plane-wave Fourier mode by a factor of magnitude , not one. The spatially dependent phase and the proportional Fourier-transform results remain unchanged. [ref]

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