Overall characterization of the polarization structure of radially polarized partially coherent vortex beams

Analytical expressions are provided for describing the overall free-space evolution of the polarization structure of paraxial vortex beams whose electric-field vector at some transverse plane exhibits a radially polarized behaviour. At each transverse plane, the polarization distribution across the beam profile is characterized by means the percentage of the irradiance associated with the radial or azimuthal components. The propagation laws for these percentages are also shown. As an illustrative example, a radially polarized partially coherent vortex beam is analized.

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