Three-dimensional polarization of fields radiated by partially coherent electromagnetic cylindrical sources

TL;DR

This paper introduces a model for partially coherent electromagnetic cylindrical sources, analyzing their polarization and spectral properties using basis function expansions, and discusses specific examples including a class of sources with coherent vector modes.

Contribution

The paper develops a mathematical framework for 3D polarization analysis of cylindrical electromagnetic sources using basis function expansions, including new classes of sources with coherent vector modes.

Findings

Spectral density and polarization degree are characterized for these sources.

Examples demonstrate the applicability of the theoretical model.

A new class of cylindrical sources with coherent vector modes is defined.

Abstract

Partially coherent electromagnetic sources with cylindrical symmetry and infinite extent radiating outwards are introduced. Their $3\times3$ cross-spectral density matrix is given through expansions of the field components in terms of basis functions related to the Hankel functions. The spectral density and the three-dimensional degree of polarization of such sources and the fields they radiate are examined. Several examples are presented and discussed. Among them, a class of cylindrical sources whose coherent vector modes coincide with the above basis functions is defined and studied.