Scattering of non-separable states of light

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates experimentally that the non-separability of polarization and orbital angular momentum in light beams persists even after scattering through a random medium, with verification through polarization and intensity measurements.

Contribution

It provides the first experimental evidence that non-separable states of light maintain their non-separability after scattering in a random medium.

Findings

Non-separability remains after scattering

Degree of polarization is preserved

Non-maximally non-separable states also retain non-separability

Abstract

We experimentally show that the non-separability of polarization and orbital angular momentum present in a light beam remains preserved under scattering through a random medium like rotating ground glass. We verify this by measuring the degree of polarization and observing the intensity distribution of the beam when projected to different polarization states, before as well as after the scattering. We extend our study to the non-maximally non-separable states also.