title: Experimental evidence for naturally occurring nondiagonal depolarizers.
abstract: We report on two Stokes nondiagonalizable Mueller matrices experimentally observed in a biological and in an organic sample. These matrices are examples of naturally occurring nondiagonal depolarizers whose unique property is to preserve the degree of polarization of all but one totally polarized light state. The description of the experimental matrices within the theory of Bragg scattering on cholesteric liquid crystals, as well as their interpretation in physical and structural terms, are likewise addressed.
authors.affiliation: LPICM, Ecole Polytechnique, CNRS 91128 Palaiseau, France. razvigor.ossikovski@polytechnique.edu
authors.forename: Razvigor
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ossikovski
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foldyna
authors.forename: Clément
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Fallet
authors.forename: Antonello
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Martino