Extending Malus's law to the general case.

[yuiop]

Is there an equation that is an extension of Malus's law that can handle circular and elliptical polarisation?

I have read that a linearly polarised wave can be decomposed into two opposite circularly polarised law. Is the converse true? Can an elliptically polarised wave be decomposed into two linearly polarised waves in such a way that we can apply Malus's law to each of the linear components and obtain a solution for the transmission of a elliptical wave?

 

[Redbelly98]

Yes, you can decompose an elliptically polarized wave into two orthogonal linearly components. Then apply Malus's law to each component, and add the two transmitted components to get the transmitted wave.