Anisotropic media with orthogonal eigenpolarizations

Abstract

For partially polarized light propagating through anisotropic media, we introduce a non-singular eigenvector matrix that diagonalizes the most general differential Mueller matrix of a transmission medium. It is shown that through the similarity matrix it is possible to recover the differential Mueller matrix from the Mueller matrix and vice versa. For non-depolarizing media the similarity matrix is analytically evaluated and the necessary and sufficient condition for such a matrix to be orthogonal is reported. The effects on the degree of polarization for incident natural light are also discussed. The incident light is expressed in terms of the Stokes vector. The transmission medium is assumed to be linear and homogeneous with any simultaneous effects of absorption and dispersion, and is characterized by a differential Mueller matrix that can or cannot exhibit depolarization effects.