Wellenbild
Wellenbild is a German term used in physics and engineering to describe the spatial and temporal distribution of a wave. It covers how a wave's amplitude and phase vary across space and time and can refer to both the underlying wave field and the observable image produced by the wave at a given plane or detector.
The term is used in multiple disciplines. In optics it denotes the complex optical field, typically written
Mathematically, a monochromatic scalar Wellenbild can be represented as a complex field E(x,y,z) with amplitude A(x,y,z)
Applications include optical imaging and holography, interferometry, ultrasound and seismic imaging, and quantum-state reconstruction, where the