Correlation matrices of completely unpolarized beams.
The simplest form for the correlation matrix of a completely unpolarized electromagnetic beam is the product of a scalar correlation function times a unit matrix. We show, however, that classes of unpolarized beams exist for which the diagonal elements of the correlation matrix are not equal to each other and the off-diagonal elements do not vanish identically. This gives rise to a distinction between pure and impure unpolarized beams. The two types of beams can be distinguished at the experimental level by their behavior in a Young's interferometer.
Dipartimento di Fisica, Università degli Studi "Roma Tre" and Consorzio Nazionale Interuniversitario per le Scienze Fisiche della Materia (CNISM), Via della Vasca Navale 84, I00146 Rome, Italy.
Franco
F
Gori
Jani
J
Tervo
Jari
J
Turunen