Analysis of coherence properties of partially polarized light in 3D and application to disordered media

Abstract

The theory of the intrinsic coherence, originally developed for 2D fields, is generalized in order to analyze coherence properties of light with a polarization that can fluctuate in three dimensions. Several notions, such as the concept of mean-square coherence and the capacity to describe irreversible behaviors, are demonstrated and illustrated with the example of light in 3D disordered media with frozen and nonfrozen disorders.

Multiple scattering of polarized light in disordered media exhibiting short-range structural correlations

“…It is also interesting to remark that the field correlation function E i (r)E ⋆ j (r ′ ) is one of the key quantities in statistical optics (where it is usually denoted by crossspectral density matrix), since it encompasses the polarization and coherence properties of fluctuating fields in the frequency domain [3,4]. The study of light fluctuations in 3D multiple scattering media has stimulated a revisiting of the concepts of degree of polarization and coherence [41][42][43][44][45], initially defined for 2D paraxial fields.…”

Interpretation of the coherency matrix for three-dimensional polarization states

“…Several relevant contributions have been published in the recent years concerning aspects as the interpretation of physical quantities derived from the eigenvalues of the coherency matrix R [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]; geometric interpretation of 3D states [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]; coherent composition of pure (or totally polarized) states [20]; incoherent composition and decomposition of pure and mixed states [4,7,9,17,21]; 3D polarimetry [22,23]; statistical and coherence properties of 3D states [24][25][26][27][28], generalized Stokes parameters [16,1,9,13,29], etc.…”

“…The study and characterization of three-dimensional (3D) states of polarization is a subject of high interest from both theoretical and experimental points of view. Several relevant contributions have been published in the recent years concerning aspects as the interpretation of physical quantities derived from the eigenvalues of the coherency matrix R [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]; geometric interpretation of 3D states [13][14][15][16][17][18][19]; coherent composition of pure (or totally polarized) states [20]; incoherent composition and decomposition of pure and mixed states [4,7,9,17,21]; 3D polarimetry [22,23]; statistical and coherence properties of 3D states [24][25][26][27][28], generalized Stokes parameters [16,1,9,13,29], etc. However, additional effort is needed in order to get answers to questions such as: how to represent 3D states of polarization as combinations of states with a simple physical interpretation?…”