Parametric characterization of non-uniformly polarized beams

A new overall parameter is defined, namely, the generalized degree of polarization, which involves the spatial distribution of the polarization of a light beam. This parameter is introduced on the basis of a general treatment recently proposed [Optics Lett. 22 (1997) 206] to characterize partially polarized fields, which extends the Stokes-Mueller formalism to describe the intensity moments of a quasimonochromatic beam. The main properties and the physical meaning of this parameter with regard to the spatial inhomogeneities of the polarization state are analysed, and a general measurement procedure is proposed.

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