# Paraxial Theory of Phasor-Field Imaging

## TL;DR

This paper provides a formal paraxial wave optics analysis of phasor-field imaging, deriving propagation primitives that extend its capabilities for non-line-of-sight imaging scenarios.

## Contribution

It introduces a set of propagation primitives based on the two-frequency, spatial Wigner distribution for enhanced phasor-field imaging analysis.

## Key findings

- Primitive analysis of occluded and unoccluded geometries
- Application of primitives to practical imaging scenarios
- Insights into light modulation effects on imaging

## Abstract

The phasor field has been shown to be a valuable tool for non-line-of-sight imaging. We present a formal analysis of phasor-field imaging using paraxial wave optics. Then, we derive a set of propagation primitives---using the two-frequency, spatial Wigner distribution---that extend the purview of phasor-field imaging. We use these primitives to analyze a set of simple imaging scenarios involving occluded and unoccluded geometries with modulated and unmodulated light. These scenarios demonstrate how to apply the primitives in practice and reveal what kind of insights can be expected from them.