HOLOGRAPHIC INFORMATION IN THE WIGNER FUNCTION

The Wigner function of a Schrodinger-cat state f(0) + f(1) is the Wign er function of f(0) plus that of f(1), plus a strongly oscillating cro ss-term, called the smile function of the cat state. We show that the marginal projection of the smile yields the transmissivity of the phys ical hologram of the object beam f1 with the reference beam f(0). We r eview properties of linear covariance for possible applications in com puter hologram interpretation or design. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V .