Partial isometries, unitary operators, and complementary operators in polarization optics

Abstract

We show that for nonnormal singular operators corresponding to the nonorthogonal polarizers, the unitary polar component is constituted by two partial isometries, one of them "active" and the other "hidden" or "mute." For each such operator there exists a complementary one, corresponding also to a nonorthogonal polarizer, which has the same unitary polar component and whose partial isometries reverse their roles.