It has been almost 100 years since Einstein formulated his special theory of relativity in 1905. He showed that the basic space-time symmetry is dictated by the Lorentz group. It is shown that this group of Lorentz transformations is not only applicable to special relativity, but also constitutes the scientific language for optical sciences. It is noted that coherent and squeezed states of light are representations of the Lorentz group. The Lorentz group is also the basic underlying language for classical ray optics, including polarization optics, interferometers, the Poincaré sphere, one-lens optics, multi-lens optics, laser cavities, as well multilayer optics.
The beam transfer matrix, often called the ABCD matrix, is one of the essential mathematical instruments in optics. It is a unimodular matrix whose determinant is 1. If all the elements are real with three independent parameters, this matrix is a 2 x 2 representation of the group Sp(2). It is shown that a real ABCD matrix can be generated by two shear transformations. It is then noted that, in para-axial lens optics, the lens and translation matrices constitute two shear transformations. It is shown that a system with an arbitrary number of lenses can be reduced to a system consisting of three lenses.
It is possible to associate two angles with two successive non-collinear Lorentz boosts. If one boost is applied after the initial boost, the result is the final boost preceded by a rotation called the Wigner rotation. The other rotation is associated with Wigner's O(3)-like little group. These two angles are shown to be different. However, it is shown that the sum of these two rotation angles is equal to the angle between the initial and final boosts. This relation is studied for both low-speed and high-speed limits. Furthermore, it is noted that the two-by-two matrices which are under the responsibility of other branches of physics can be interpreted in terms of the transformations of the Lorentz group, or vice versa. Classical ray optics is mentioned as a case in point.
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