Energy flow lines and the spot of Poisson-Arago

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how energy flow lines can explain the Poisson-Arago spot phenomenon, providing a complementary perspective to wave theory by showing that these lines can reach the shadow center of a circular obstacle.

Contribution

It introduces a numerical simulation of energy flow lines that can reach the Poisson-Arago spot, bridging classical ray concepts with diffraction phenomena.

Findings

Energy flow lines reach the bright spot in the shadow center.

Simulation confirms energy flow lines correspond to Newton's diffracted rays.

Provides a classical ray-based explanation for diffraction effects.

Abstract

We show how energy flow lines answer the question about diffraction phenomena presented in 1818 by the French Academy: "deduce by mathematical induction, the movements of the rays during their crossing near the bodies". This provides a complementary answer to Fresnel's wave theory of light. A numerical simulation of these energy flow lines proves that they can reach the bright spot of Poisson-Arago in the shadow center of a circular opaque disc. For a monochromatic wave in vacuum, these energy flow lines correspond to the diffracted rays of Newton's Opticks.