Abstract

The existence of linear zeros in the Fourier domain (locations where the real part and the imaginary part of the Fourier transform are simultaneously zero and both go through the zero linearly) has a tremendous impact on the value of the Fourier phase throughout the frequency plane. Branch cuts in the wrapped Fourier phase (curves along which the phase abruptly changes from −π to π) provide most of the visual information when examining an image of the phase values, and they must stop and start at linear zeros.

© 1992 Optical Society of America