Open AccessMeasuring complex correlation matrix of partially coherent vector light via a generalized Hanbury Brown–Twiss experiment
Author(s) -
Zhen Dong,
Zhichao Huang,
Yuntian Chen,
Fei Wang,
Yangjian Cai
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.398185
Subject(s) - physics , optics , polarization (electrochemistry) , gaussian , matrix (chemical analysis) , correlation , quantum mechanics , mathematics , geometry , chemistry , materials science , composite material
We introduce an effective method for measuring the spatial distribution of complex correlation matrix of a partially coherent vector light field obeying Gaussian statistics by extending our recently advanced generalized Hanbury Brown-Twiss experiment. The method involves a combination of the partially coherent vector light with a pair of fully coherent reference vector fields and a measurement of the intensity-intensity cross-correlation of the combined fields. We show the real and imaginary parts of the complex correlation matrix can be recovered through a judicious control of the phase delay between two reference fields. We test the feasibility of our method by measuring the complex correlation matrix of a specially correlated radially polarized vector beam and we find the consistence between the experimental results and our general theory. We further show that our complex correlation matrix measurement can be used in reconstructing the polarization states hidden behind a thin-layer diffuser.