Glare Pattern Depiction: High-Fidelity Physical Computation and Physiologically-Inspired Visual Response

When observing an intense light source, humans perceive dense radiating spikes known as glare/starburst patterns. These patterns are frequently used in computer graphics applications to enhance the perception of brightness (e.g., in games and films). Previous works have computed the physical energy distribution of glare patterns under daytime conditions using approximations like Fresnel diffraction. These techniques are capable of producing visually believable results, particularly when the pupil remains small. However, they are insufficient under nighttime conditions, when the pupil is significantly dilated and the assumptions behind the approximations no longer hold. To address this, we employ the Rayleigh-Sommerfeld diffraction solution, from which Fresnel diffraction is derived as an approximation, as our baseline reference. In pursuit of performance and visual quality, we also employ Ochoa's approximation and the Chirp Z transform to efficiently generate high-resolution results for computer graphics applications. By also taking into account background illumination and certain physiological characteristics of the human photoreceptor cells, particularly the visual threshold of light stimulus, we propose a framework capable of producing plausible visual depictions of glare patterns for both daytime and nighttime scenes.