Factorization of products of discontinuous functions applied to Fourier-Bessel basis

The factorization rules of Li [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 13, 1870 (1996)] are generalized to a cylindrical geometry requiring the use of a Bessel function basis. A theoretical study confirms the validity of the Laurent rule when a product of two continuous functions or of one continuous and one discontinuous function is factorized. The necessity of applying the so-called inverse rule in factorizing a continuous product of two discontinuous functions in a truncated basis is demonstrated theoretically and numerically. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America