Issue |
J. Eur. Opt. Soc.-Rapid Publ.
Volume 13, Number 1, 2017
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 36 | |
Number of page(s) | 5 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1186/s41476-017-0061-9 | |
Published online | 17 November 2017 |
Research
Dimensionality of random light fields
1
Institute of Photonics, University of Eastern Finland, P. O. Box 111, FI-80101, Joensuu, Finland
2
Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Staudtstraße 2, D-91058, Erlangen, Germany
3
Facultad de Educación, Universidad de Zaragoza, Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009, Zaragoza, Spain
Received:
16
June
2017
Accepted:
25
October
2017
Background: The spectral polarization state and dimensionality of random light are important concepts in modern optical physics and photonics.
Methods: By use of space-frequency domain coherence theory, we establish a rigorous classification for the electricfield vector to oscillate in one, two, or three spatial dimensions.
Results: We also introduce a new measure, the polarimetric dimension, to quantify the dimensional character of light. The formalism is utilized to show that polarized three-dimensional light does not exist, while an evanescent wave generated in total internal reflection generally is a genuine three-dimensional light field.
Conclusions: The framework we construct advances the polarization theory of random light and it could be beneficial for near-field optics and polarization-sensitive applications involving complex-structured light fields.
Key words: Dimensionality / Polarization / Random light
© The Author(s) 2017
Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.
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