ABSTRACT
In Chapter 4 it was noted that the experiments carried out by Fresnel and Young led to the discovery of transverse character of light that could satisfactorily describe the phenomenon of interference using polarized light. The basic definition of state of polarization of light via the polarization ellipse of the transverse EM field was briefly introduced in Chapter 4. When such polarized light passes through any anisotropic medium, its polarization state is transformed depending upon medium characteristics. The variations in the state of polarization of a wave thus enable us to characterize the system under consideration. A number of mathematical formalisms have been developed over the years to deal with the propagation of polarized light and its interaction with optical systems. Among these, the Jones calculus and the Stokes-Mueller calculus have been the most widely used. The former is a field-based model that assumes coherent addition of the phase and amplitude of EM waves, and the latter is an intensity-based model that instead utilizes the incoherent addition of wave intensities. In this chapter we define the various states of
Wave Trends
polarization of light waves and discuss the interaction of such polarized light with material media using the Jones and Stokes-Mueller calculus. We also briefly introduce the concepts of polarimetric measurements and touch upon representative applications of experimental polarimetry.
