Abstract
Based on the Mueller-Stokes matrix formalism and the Wolf autocorrelation functions, a general approach is developed for studying the polarization characteristics of a light beam with arbitrary autocoherence during its interaction with various media. This makes it possible to take into account the dispersion of the medium and the coherence properties of the light field. It is shown that the propagation of a polychromatic light beam with spectrally pure polarization in a certain medium can be described by an integrated Mueller matrix. For a linear phase plate, the matrix elements can be expressed by means of the modulus and the phase of the complex degree of autocoherence. The polarization of a light beam emitted by a black-body radiator and the influence of the dispersion in a KDP crystal in quasi-monochromatic light are discussed as applications.

This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit: