On-axis polarization of beams radiated by electromagnetic circularly coherent sources

TL;DR

This paper introduces a model for partially coherent electromagnetic sources with cylindrical symmetry, analyzing their polarization properties and spectral density, and presents specific examples including a class of cylindrical sources with coherent vector modes.

Contribution

It provides a mathematical framework for describing the polarization and spectral properties of cylindrical electromagnetic sources using basis functions related to Hankel functions.

Findings

Spectral density and degree of polarization are characterized for these sources.

A specific class of cylindrical sources with coherent vector modes is defined and analyzed.

Theoretical insights into the polarization behavior of cylindrical electromagnetic sources.

Abstract

Partially coherent electromagnetic sources with cylindrical symmetry and infinite extent radiating outwards are introduced. Their 3x3 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.