Abstract: An optical arrangement, in particular a projection exposure system for microlithography, has, in particular, a slit-shaped image field or a non-rotational-symmetric illumination. As a result, an optical element (101) is exposed in a non-rotational-symmetric manner to the radiation of the light source (110, 111, 112). The optical element (101) has an absorbing coating (104, 105). The absorption of the coating (104, 105) is distributed in such a manner that it is non-rotation-symmetrical in a manner that is at least approximately complementary to the intensity distribution of the exposure to the radiation (107, 108, 109) of the light source (110, 111, 112). As a result of the energy absorbed in the coating (104, 105), an additional heating of the optical element (101) takes place that results in a better non-rotational-symmetric temperature distribution and, consequently, a compensation for light-induced imaging errors.