Mueller-Polarimetry of Barley Leaves II: Mueller Matrix Decompositions

Abstract

This paper highlights the application of decomposition methods in Mueller polarimetry for the discrimination of three groups of barley leaf samples from Hordeum vulgare: Chlorina mutant, Chlorina etiolated mutant and Cesaer varieties in the visible wavelength at λ = 632.8 nm. To obtain the anisotropic and depolarizing properties of the samples under study, the additive and multiplicative decompositions of experimental Mueller matrices were used. We show how a rich set of anisotropy and depolarization parameters obtained from decompositions can be used as effective observables for the discrimination between different varieties of the same plant species.