Measurements of spatial coherence of partially coherent light with and without orbital angular momentum

We study the spatial coherence of a partially coherent beam before and after being transmitted through a spiral phase plate that changes the overall orbital angular momentum of the field. The two-point coherence function is measured and directly visualized on a CCD through interference in a Mach–Zehnder interferometer equipped with an image rotator. We show, in particular, how the coherence singularities associated with Airy rings are strongly affected by the spiral phase plate.