Simulation of the formation of a Talbot carpet

These simulations showcase the diffraction of light after it goes through an infinite periodic diffraction grating. This gives rise to the Talbot effect, a fascinating optical phenomenon characterised by the formation of replicas of the grating at certain characteristic distances. In the appropriate limit, this gives rise to the formation of fractal patterns. In these videos you can see how the 2D spacial distribution of the intensity of light, the Talbot carpet, evolves from zero initial conditions. An explanation of how these simulations were obtained and the resulting code is available on Github and on this paper of mine.

Videos with a linear colour bar.

Videos with a logarithmic colour bar.