In this paper, the problem of assessing the twistability of a given bona fide cross-spectral density is tackled for the class of Schell-model sources, whose shift-invariant degree of coherence is represented by a real and symmetric function, { denoted as} $\mu(-\bfr)=\mu(\bfr)$. By employing an abstract operatorial language, the problem of determining the highly degenerate spectrum of a twisted operator $\hat W_u$ is addressed through a modal analysis based on { the} complete knowledge of the spectrum of the { \em sole} twist operator $\hat T_u$, as found by R. Simon and N. Mukunda. [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A \textbf{ 15,} 1361 (1998)]. To this end, the evaluation of the complete tensor of the matrix elements $\bra n',\ell'|\hat W_u|n,\ell\ket$ is carried out within the framework of the so-called { \em extended Wigner distribution function}, a concept recently introduced by M. { VanValkenburgh} [J. Mod. Opt. \textbf{ 55,} 3537 - 3549 (2008)]. As a nontrivial application of the algorithm developed here, the analytical determination of the spectrum of saturated twisted astigmatic Gaussian Schell-model sources is also presented.
Categories: physics.optics