Autocorrelation functions and power spectral densities of the Stokes parameters in a polarization speckle pattern

J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 2023 Jan 1;40(1):165-174. doi: 10.1364/JOSAA.476171.

Abstract

The concept of ensemble-average polarization and coherence has been applied to studying fluctuating Stokes parameters in a polarization speckle observed when coherent light is passed through a birefringent polarization scrambler. With the aid of the ensemble-average van Cittert-Zernike theorem for the propagation of ensemble-average polar-coherence, we invesitgate the autocorrelation functions and power spectra of the Stokes parameters to expose the dependence of the polarization-related scale-size distributions on the optical geometries in which the polarization speckle arises. A generalized concept of the Stokes ensemble-average coherence areas is introduced to deal with the polarization-related average areas associated with polarization speckle.