RAY-BASED SIMULATION OF AN OPTICAL INTERFEROMETER

We present the problem of generating a computer simulation for optical interferometers. Of the several methods in use to simulate optical sy stems, none seems adequate to describe the image formed by interferenc e between beams encountering a real system of lenses, mirrors, and gra tings. We have developed a ray-tracing software package that can be ap plied to complex systems and used to generate realistic interference p atterns, even from extended sources, without simplifying assumptions. We present results of a simulated nonscanning interferometer with cohe rent summation at a discrete-element detector. No coherence theory is added a priori; instead, the major results are shown to be verified nu merically.