Combined effects of a converging beam of light and mirror misalignment in michelson interferometry.
We have derived an expression for the combined effects of a converging beam of light and mirror misalignment on the interferograms obtained with a Michelson interferometer. Each effect has been considered separately by others and leads to symmetric interferograms whose modulation is less than 100%. The combined effect produces an asymmetry in the interferogram as well as a decrease in the modulation. The magnitude of the asymmetric term is given in terms of the optical parameters of the interferometer.