Non-Euclidean symmetries of first-order optical systems

Abstract

We revisit the basic aspects of first-order optical systems from a geometrical viewpoint. In the paraxial regime, there is a wide family of beams for which the action of these systems can be represented as a Möbius transformation. We examine this action from the perspective of non-Euclidean hyperbolic geometry and resort to the isometric-circle method to decompose it as a reflection followed by an inversion in a circle. We elucidate the physical meaning of these geometrical operations for basic elements, such as free propagation and thin lenses, and link them with physical parameters of the system.