Polarization properties of a class of electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model beams which have the same far-zone intensity distribution as a fully coherent laser beam

Abstract

The polarization properties of an electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model beam propagating in free space are examined on the basis of the recently formulated unified theory of coherence and polarization. Specifically, we derive formulas for the orientation angle and the ellipticity of the polarization ellipse of the polarized portion of beams which are not necessarily isotropic in a well-defined sense. These formulas are generalizations of recently derived expressions for a class of isotropic beams. Conditions are also derived under which the polarization properties remain unchanged on propagation for electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model beams which have the same far-zone intensity distribution as a fully coherent laser beam.