Virtual sources for a cosh-Gaussian beam

On the basis of superposition of beams, a group of virtual sources that generate a cosh-Gaussian wave is identified. A closed-form expression is derived for this cosh-Gaussian wave, which, in the appropriate limit, yields the paraxial approximation for the cosh-Gaussian beam. From this expression, the paraxial approximation and the nonparaxial corrections of all orders for the corresponding paraxial cosh-Gaussian beam are determined. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.