Wminus said:Hi. There is one thing I don't understand: Why do stoke's parameters and all the Jones calculus business apply only to incoherent light? I don't understand how it can work on incoherent light, while fail to work on e.g. monochromatic light.
Stoke parameters are a set of four quantities that describe the polarization state of incoherent light. They are used to fully characterize the polarization state of light, which is the direction and magnitude of the electric field oscillations as the light propagates.
Stoke parameters are important because they provide a quantitative way to describe the polarization state of light. This is useful in many applications, such as in telecommunications, optical imaging, and materials characterization.
Stoke parameters can be measured using a polarimeter, which is an instrument that measures the intensity and polarization state of light. The measurements are then used to calculate the values of the four Stoke parameters.
Yes, Stoke parameters can change over time. This is because the polarization state of light can change as it travels through different media or interacts with materials. However, for incoherent light, the Stoke parameters will remain constant on average.
Coherent light is light in which all the electric field oscillations have the same frequency and are in phase with each other. Incoherent light, on the other hand, has random electric field oscillations with different frequencies and phases. This results in a lack of a well-defined polarization state for incoherent light.