Photopic (black) and scotopic (green) luminosity functions.^{[c 1]} The photopic includes the CIE 1931 standard^{[c 2]} (solid), the Judd-Vos 1978 modified data^{[c 3]} (dashed), and the Sharpe, Stockman, Jagla & Jägle 2005 data^{[c 4]} (dotted). The horizontal axis is wavelength in nm.

The luminosity function or luminous efficiency function describes the average visual sensitivity of the human eye to light of different wavelengths. It should not be considered perfectly accurate in every case, but it is a very good representation of visual sensitivity of the human eye and it is valuable as a baseline for experimental purposes. It is a standard function established by the Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage (CIE) and may be used to convert radiant energy into luminous (i.e., visible) energy. It also forms the central color matching function in the CIE 1931 color space.

Details[link]

There are two luminosity functions in common use. For everyday light levels, the photopic luminosity function best approximates the response of the human eye. For low light levels, the response of the human eye changes, and the scotopic curve applies. The photopic curve is the CIE standard curve used in the CIE 1931 color space.

The luminous flux (or visible energy) in a light source is defined by the photopic luminosity function. The following equation calculates the total luminous flux in a source of light.

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): F=683.002\ \mathrm{lm/W}\cdot \int^\infin_0 \overline{y}(\lambda) J(\lambda) d\lambda

where

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): F\,

is the luminous flux in lumens,

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): J(\lambda)\,

is the spectral power distribution of the radiation (power per unit wavelength), in watts per metre.

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \overline{y}(\lambda)

(also known as Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): V(\lambda)\,

) is the standard luminosity function (which is dimensionless).

Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \lambda\,

is wavelength in metres.

Formally, the integral is the inner product of the luminosity function with the light spectrum.^[1] In practice, the integral is replaced by a sum over discrete wavelengths for which tabulated values of the luminosity function are available. The CIE distributes standard tables with luminosity function values at 5 nm intervals from 380 nm to 780 nm.^{[cie 1]}

The standard luminosity function is normalized to a peak value of unity at 555 nm (see luminous coefficient). The value of the constant in front of the integral is usually rounded off to 683 lm/W. The small excess fractional value comes from the slight mismatch between the definition of the lumen and the peak of the luminosity function. The lumen is defined to be unity for a radiant energy of 1/683 watt at a frequency of 540 THz, which corresponds to a standard air wavelength of 555.016 nm rather than 555 nm, which is the peak of the luminosity curve. The value of Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): \overline{y}(\lambda)

is 0.999997 at 555.016 nm, so that a value of 683/0.999997 = 683.002 is the multiplicative constant.[2]

The number 683 is connected to the modern (1979) definition of the candela, the unit of luminous intensity.^{[cie 2]} This arbitrary number made the new definition give numbers equivalent to those from the old definition of the candela.

Improvements to the standard[link]

The CIE 1924 photopic Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): V(\lambda)

luminosity function,[cie 3] which is included in the CIE 1931 color-matching functions as the y function, has long been acknowledged to underestimate the contribution of the blue end of the spectrum to perceived luminance.  There have been numerous attempts to improve the standard function, to make it more representative of human vision.  Judd in 1951,[3] improved by Vos in 1978,[4] resulted in a function known as CIE Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): V_M(\lambda)

.^[5] More recently, Sharpe, Stockman, Jagla & Jägle (2005) developed a function consistent with the Stockman & Sharpe cone fundamentals;^[6] their curves are plotted in the figure above.

Scotopic luminosity[link]

For very low levels of intensity (scotopic vision), the sensitivity of the eye is mediated by rods, not cones, and shifts toward the violet, peaking around 507 nm for young eyes; the sensitivity is equivalent to 1699 lm/W^[7] or 1700 lm/W^[8] at this peak.

The standard scotopic luminosity function or Failed to parse (Missing texvc executable; please see math/README to configure.): V^\prime(\lambda)

was adopted by the CIE in 1951, based on measurements by Wald (1945) and by Crawford (1949).[1]

See also[link]

• A-weighting, the sound equivalent
• Apparent brightness
• Color vision
• Quantum efficiency, the image sensor equivalent

References[link]

CIE documents[link]

Curve data[link]

External links[link]

• Color and Research Vision Laboratory - luminous efficiency data tables