title: Generation and electromagnetic coherence of unpolarized three-component light fields.
abstract: Conditions for controlled generation of completely unpolarized, genuine three-component random light fields, both radiating and evanescent, in multi-beam illumination at a planar dielectric interface are explored. The associated electromagnetic degrees of coherence are also analyzed. Our results reveal the possibility to tailor fields with polarization properties identical to those of universal blackbody radiation, yet with tunable spatial coherence characteristics. Such unconventional, fully unpolarized three-component electromagnetic fields, not addressable by the traditional beam-field formalism, could be exploited in surface-photonic light-matter interactions.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Norrman
authors.forename: Tero
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Setälä
authors.forename: Ari T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Friberg