Encircled radiant energy of a Gaussian beam ($Q(R)=U(1-e^{-2R^2/w^2})$)

The encircled radiant energy of a Gaussian beam is the radiant energy inside a centred circular receiver at a specified transverse plane. For fixed Gaussian beam radius $w$ and total laser pulse energy $U$,The radiant exposure of a Gaussian beam contains the radial integration and aperture-capture plot. Its $w$ is the irradiance $e^{-2}$ radius, as specified in the primary beam account.^[ref]

An original annular example distinguishes energy near an axis from energy between two radii. Subtracting two encircled values givesChoose $U=5\mu \mathrm{J}$, $w=0.50\mathrm{mm}$, $R_1=0.25\mathrm{mm}$ and $R_2=0.50\mathrm{mm}$. The annulus receives $5(e^{-1/2}-e^{-2})\approx 2.356\mu \mathrm{J}$, or 47.12 percent of the full beam energy. A bright central point does not imply that most energy lies in an arbitrarily small disk around it.

Indeed, the radial radiant-energy density of a Gaussian beam is $dQ/dR=2\pi RH(R)$, where $H$ is local radiant exposure. For this profile it is largest at $R=w/2$, even though $H$ is largest at zero radius. Increasing a centred aperture and comparing integrated detector readings can test the cumulative prediction. Detector linearity, aperture alignment and the finite collection boundary must be controlled; a displaced aperture is not described by the centred formula.

The radial radiant-energy density of a Gaussian beam gives energy per increment of radius, rather than per unit surface area. For local radiant exposure $H(R)$ and encircled radiant energy of a Gaussian beam $Q(R)$,Its units are $\mathrm{J}{\mathrm{m}}^{-1}$, while $H$ has units $\mathrm{J}{\mathrm{m}}^{-2}$. The primary Gaussian profile uses $w$ as the irradiance $e^{-2}$ radius.^[ref]

For an original narrow-annulus comparison, take $U=1\mu \mathrm{J}$ and $w=0.80\mathrm{mm}$. The central disk from zero to $0.020\mathrm{mm}$ receives about $1.249\mathrm{nJ}$. The annulus from $0.390$ to $0.410\mathrm{mm}$ receives about $30.32\mathrm{nJ}$. Both span the same radial width, but the outer annulus has much more area. Equal radial width is not equal receiving area.

The shell density is maximal at $R=w/2$ and vanishes at $R=0$, despite the local exposure being largest on axis. Dividing $g$ by $U$ gives a probability density function over nonnegative radius: it is a Rayleigh distribution with scale $w/2$. This is an energy-weighted mathematical representation, not an additional photon-counting assumption. Differences between successive centred-aperture energy measurements estimate shell energies; dividing by their radial separation approximates $g$ when that separation is sufficiently small.