Polarization and Stokes parameters
Stokes parameters describe the polarization state of an electromagnetic wave (in this demonstration only fully polarized waves are considered). They make a three-dimensional vector on the Poincaré sphere, which shows the topological relations between various trajectories of the electric field vector E. We can also characterize polarization by the amplitudes of oscillations of the Ex a Ey components and their phase difference, or via the geometry of the polarization ellipse.
Tips for trying:
- What parts of the Poincaré sphere correspond to linear, circular, elliptic polarizations?
- How are the Ex a Ey oscillations affected by the spherical angles ϑ, ϕ?
- Which parameters of the ellipse are conserved in rotations of the vector around x, y, z axes? (You can try that by tapping and holding the axis tips.) Look for horizontal, vertical, diagonal extents and the surface area of the ellipse.