[摘要]:We apply the coherent-mode expansion to correlation functions used to describe the coherence properties of supercontinuum generated in nonlinear fibers. We show that the leading term of the expansion represents the quasi-coherent part of the field while the quasi-stationary part is embedded into the higher-order modes. The evolution of the modal expansion and the number of modes needed to describe the supercontinuum field are also discussed. (C) 2012 Optical Society of America