Linearly polarised light at azimuth to the horizontal is incident on a half-wave…
PHYSICS · Multi-part · Fermi University Physics · Optics & Photonics · Polarisation and anisotropic media · Polarisation and anisotropic media
What an Instrument Can See, Ch Polarisation as a statistical object: coherency and Mueller matrices
Problem
Linearly polarised light at azimuth 10∘ to the horizontal is incident on a half-wave plate whose fast axis is set at 22.5∘ to the horizontal.
((a)) Give the input state's normalised Stokes coordinates (S1,S2,S3)/S0 and locate it on the Poincare sphere.
((b)) Describe the plate's action as a motion on the sphere: state the axis (as a point on the equator) and the angle of rotation.
((c)) Carry out the rotation to find the output state's coordinates, then translate this back into the azimuth of the output linear polarisation.