Journal
OPTICS COMMUNICATIONS
Volume 283, Issue 22, Pages 4440-4447Publisher
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
DOI: 10.1016/j.optcom.2010.04.088
Keywords
Polarization; Quantum optics; Stokes operators; Degree of polarization; Unpolarized states
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Funding
- Swedish Research Council
- Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT)
- Spanish Research Directorate [FIS2008-04356]
- Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia [45704]
- Romanian Ministry of Education and Research [IDEI-995/2007]
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We discuss different proposals for the degree of polarization of quantum fields. The simplest approach, namely making a direct analogy with the classical description via the Stokes operators, is known to produce unsatisfactory results. Still, we argue that these operators and their properties should be basic for any measure of polarization. We compare alternative quantum degrees and put forth that they order various states differently. This is to be expected, since, despite being rooted in the Stokes operators, each of these measures only captures certain characteristics. Therefore, it is likely that several quantum degrees of polarization will coexist, each one having its specific domain of usefulness. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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