In optics, polarized light can be described by the Jones calculus, invented by R. C. Jones in 1941. Polarized light is represented by a Jones vector, and linear optical elements are represented by the Jones matrices. When light passes through an optical element, the resulting polarization of the emerging light is found by taking the Jones matrix product of the optical element and the Jones vector of the incident light. The Jones calculation is only applicable to light that is already fully polarized. Light that is polarized at random, partially polarized, or incoherent must be treated with the Mueller calculation.
Jones Vectors
The Jones vectors describe the polarization of light.
The components x and y of the complex amplitude of the electric field of light travel along the z-direction, E x ( t ) {\displaystyle E_{x}(t)} Y E Y ( t ) {\displaystyle E_{y}(t)} , and are represented as ( E x ( t ) E Y ( t ) ) = E 0 ( E 0 x e i ( k from & # x2212; & # x03C9; t + & # x03D5; x ) E 0 Y e i ( k from & # x2212; & # x03C9; t + & # x03D5; Y ) ) = E 0 e i ( k from & # x2212; & # x03C9; t ) ( E 0 x e i & # x03D5;
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