Vector beams as the superposition of cylindrical partial waves in bianisotropic media

Abstract

The exact solutions for arbitrary electromagnetic beams in bianisotropic media are constructed. The solutions are expressed using tensor Fourier transform whose physical meaning is the superposition of partial waves. We use cylindrical partial waves (vector Bessel beams) and derive exact and paraxial solutions for cylindrically symmetric beams in isotropic, bi-isotropic and bianisotropic media. The comparison of the spatial evolution of vector Bessel–Gauss beams in different media is made.