Abstract
Following Nye & Hajnal, we explore the geometry of complex vector waves by regarding them as a field of polarization ellipses. Singularities of this field are the C lines and L lines, where the polarization is purely circular and purely linear, respectively. The singularities can be reinterpreted as loci of photon spin 1 (C lines) and 0 (L lines). For Gaussian random superpositions of plane waves equidistributed in direction but with an arbitrary frequency spectrum, we calculate the density (length per unit volume) of C and L lines.
| Translated title of the contribution | Polarization singularities in isotropic random vector waves |
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| Original language | English |
| Pages (from-to) | 141 - 155 |
| Number of pages | 15 |
| Journal | Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences |
| Volume | 457 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2001 |