title: Partial polarization in three dimensions.
abstract: Various different parameters have been introduced to describe the degree of polarization of a partially polarized electromagnetic field in three dimensions. Of these, parameters based on the eigenvalues of the coherency matrix are invariant under a unitary transformation. Here, explicit expressions are presented for the eigenvalues, thus providing a geometrical interpretation of the behavior. These expressions are applied to the Huynen decomposition and allow interrelations between different parameters to be developed.
authors.affiliation: Optical Bioimaging Laboratory, Division of Bioengineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore. colin@nus.edu.sg
authors.forename: Colin J R
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Sheppard
mesh_terms: D004574:Electromagnetic Fields; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D055620:Optical Phenomena