Análise da relação entre coerência e polarização: uma visão quântica

Abstract

In this work we analyze the coherence and polarization properties of light, first reviewing what is known in the classical case (where light is understood as an electromagnetic wave) and then analyzing how these concepts are translated to the quantum view. Using the Stokes parameters formalism, we describe the polarization properties for a random ensemble of polarized photons in terms of the elements of their density matrix. We then define for the first time the generalized Stokes parameters for quantum mechanics and discuss, in the context of the double slit experiment, how these generalized parameters can be interpreted physically in terms of the degree of coherence in a general theory of interference. Through this final development, it becomes possible to observe a deeper relationship between coherence and polarization in the behavior of light, where polarization affects the degree of coherence of the ensemble and, on the other hand, the degree of coherence determines the polarization properties that will be observed after interference has occurred.