Studies in Coherence and Physical Optics
In her thesis physicist Jia Xu explores how light waves are related (coherence) and how their electric fields are oriented (polarization).
“Both affect how light passes through optical systems. Standard Jones and Mueller matrix methods cannot fully describe light with partial coherence and polarization, so I developed a broader matrix method. I also studied brightness fluctuations when light is focused, polarization control in ultrashort pulses, and atmospheric effects on a free-space optical White Rabbit link for precise clock synchronization.”
Focusing of light
“The new method extends Malus’ law to partially polarized light and shows that non-uniform polarizers can create points where wave correlations vanish. Calculations show that focusing can greatly increase random brightness fluctuations.
"I also show theoretically how an interferometer with a dispersive material can control polarization within ultrashort pulses. Experiments found that atmospheric turbulence, beam coherence and receiver properties together affect the stability and reliability of the White Rabbit synchronization link.”
More information on the thesis.