Abstract

We advance an analytical model describing the polarimetric response of a depolarizing retarder whose retardance varies spatially in magnitude or in orientation. The variation of the retarder parameters may be either of deterministic or of random nature. The model provides both the mean values and the uncertainties of the parameters. Its application is illustrated on two experimental examples, respectively covering the deterministic and the random cases.

© 2022 Optica Publishing Group

Physical model of differential Mueller matrix for depolarizing uniform media

Vincent Devlaminck
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 30(11) 2196-2204 (2013)

Depolarization synthesis: understanding the optics of Mueller matrix depolarization

Shane R. Cloude
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 30(4) 691-700 (2013)

From a nondepolarizing Mueller matrix to a depolarizing Mueller matrix

José J. Gil
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 31(12) 2736-2743 (2014)

Depolarizing differential Mueller matrix of homogeneous media under Gaussian fluctuation hypothesis

Vincent Devlaminck
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 32(10) 1736-1743 (2015)

Differential Mueller matrix of a depolarizing homogeneous medium and its relation to the Mueller matrix logarithm

Razvigor Ossikovski and Antonello De Martino
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 32(2) 343-348 (2015)