A three-dimensional degree of polarization based on Rayleigh scattering

Abstract

A measure of the degree of polarization for the three-dimensional polarization matrix (coherence matrix) of an electromagnetic field is proposed, based on Rayleigh scattering. The degree of polarization, due to dipole scattering of the three-dimensional state of polarization, is averaged over all scattering directions. This gives a well-defined purity measure, which, unlike other proposed measures of the three-dimensional degree of polarization, is not a unitary invariant of the matrix. This is demonstrated and discussed for several examples, including a partially polarized transverse beam.

17 pages, 3 figures. OSA style

References in corpus (2)

• Geometric interpretation of the 3-dimensional coherence matrix for nonparaxial polarization
• Canonical representation of spherical functions: Sylvester's theorem, Maxwell's multipoles and Majorana's sphere

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• Majorization and Measures of Classical Polarization in Three Dimensions
• Multiple scattering of polarized light in disordered media exhibiting short-range structural correlations
• Classical distinguishability as an operational measure of polarization
• Polarization monotones of two-dimensional and three-dimensional random electromagnetic fields
• Geometric approach of degree of polarization in 3D polarimetry