Synthetic Mueller Imaging Polarimetry

Abstract

The transformation of the state of polarization of a light beam via its linear interaction with a material medium can be modeled through the Stokes–Mueller formalism. The Mueller matrix associated with a given interaction depends on many aspects of the measurement configuration. In particular, different Mueller matrices can be measured for a fixed material sample depending on the spectral profile of the light probe. For a given light probe and a given sample with inhomogeneous spatial behavior, the polarimetric descriptors of the point-to-point Mueller matrices can be mapped, leading to respective polarimetric images. The procedure can be repeated sequentially using light probes with different central frequencies. In addition, the point-to-point Mueller matrices, consecutively measured, can be combined synthetically through convex sums leading to respective new Mueller matrices, in general with increased polarimetric randomness, thus exhibiting specific values for the associated polarimetric descriptors, including the indices of polarimetric purity, and generating new polarimetric images which are different from those obtained from the original Mueller matrices. In this work, the fundamentals for such synthetic generation of additional polarimetric images are described, providing a new tool that enhances the exploitation of Mueller polarimetry.