Interference pattern produced on reflection at a phase-conjugate mirror I: Theory

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Abstract
The structure of the fringe pattern that results from the interference between a plane monochromatic wave of any state of polarization incident upon a phase-conjugate mirror and the wave reflected from the mirror is analyzed theoretically. It is found that the locations of the fringe maxima and minima depend on the phase of the incident wave, in contrast to the situation involving an ordinary metal mirror. Some of the results are applied to situations that represent the “phase-conjugate analogs” of classic experiments of O. Wiener on standing waves of light. A comparison is made between his results and those that would be obtained in experiments involving a phase-conjugate mirror in place of an ordinary metallic mirror.