Cherenkov radiation from relativistic heavy ions: interpretation in terms of diffraction

Abstract We demonstrate here the relationship between the diffraction theory and the theory of optical radiation in the vicinity of the Cherenkov cone from relativistic heavy ions taking account of the slowing-down in a radiator. We draw an analogy with the Huygens-Fresnel principle and demonstrate how the Cornu spiral, known in physical optics, is useful for qualitative and quantitative analysis of the shape and width of the non-trivial angular distributions of radiation.