Propagation of partially polarized, partially coherent beams

摘要

The propagation of partially polarized and partially coherent beams in free space is investigated. Using the partially polarized Gaussian Schell model beam as an example, closed-form propagation expressions are derived for the intensity distribution and the degree of polarization of the beam. The effect of propagation parameters on the intensity and the polarization property of the beam is illustrated and analyzed when the components of the incident field change. To our knowledge it is the first time a recent definition of the degree of polarization for general three-dimensional fields has been used to evaluate the propagation of partially polarized and partially coherent beams.