Geometric polarimetry − part I: spinors and wave states

Bebbington, D. and Carrea, L. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3280-2767 (2014) Geometric polarimetry − part I: spinors and wave states. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 52 (7). pp. 3908-3923. ISSN 0196-2892 doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2013.2278141

Abstract/Summary

A new formal approach for representation of polarization states of coherent and partially coherent electromagnetic plane waves is presented. Its basis is a purely geometric construction for the normalised complex-analytic coherent wave as a generating line in the sphere of wave directions, and whose Stokes vector is determined by the intersection with the conjugate generating line. The Poincare sphere is now located in physical space, simply a coordination of the wave sphere, its axis aligned with the wave vector. Algebraically, the generators representing coherent states are represented by spinors, and this is made consistent with the spinor-tensor representation of electromagnetic theory by means of an explicit reference spinor we call the phase flag. As a faithful unified geometric representation, the new model provides improved formal tools for resolving many of the geometric difficulties and ambiguities that arise in the traditional formalism.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/51711
Identification Number/DOI	10.1109/TGRS.2013.2278141
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society
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