Abstract
The ABCD law and the M 2 factor are generalized for the propagation of general polychromatic light beams through first-order optical systems by introducing a generalized complex radius of curvature Q, an average wavelength λ and a characterization width W C. The real part and the imaginary part of the parameter 1/ Q are related to the effective radius of curvature and the characterization width W C, respectively. The characterization width W C and the generalized M 2 factor are shown to be appropriate for describing the propagation capability and the beam quality of a general polychromatic light beam respectively. Moreover, the relation M 2 ≥ 1 is deduced, a novel approach for interpreting the physical meaning of the effective radius of curvature is presented, and several special examples such as the polychromatic diffraction-limited light beams are analysed.
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