Physical model of differential Mueller matrix for depolarizing uniform media

Degree of polarization (uniformity) and depolarization index: unambiguous depolarization contrast for optical coherence tomography

“…A homogeneous Müller matrix can be written in differential form d S /d z = m S , where m = d M /d z M −1 is the SO(3,1) differential Müller matrix relating the change of the four-element Stokes vector along the propagation direction, z . Decomposition of m separates diattenuation and retardation, $m_{det}=\frac{1}{2}false(m-G{m}^{\mathrm{T}}Gfalse)$, from their associated uncertainties that describe depolarization, $m_{\text{dep}}=\frac{1}{2}false(m+G{m}^{\mathrm{T}}Gfalse)$, with G = diag(1, −1, −1, −1) [12,13],…”

Enhanced depolarization contrast in polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography

“…In contrast with the DOPU and DOPD, the value of the DDI is directly linked to the variance and covariance of the anisotropic properties of the sample [17], which are themselves the inherent source of the depolarization [18][19][20]. These values may be grouped in the following covariance matrix: …”

Physically meaningful depolarization metric based on the differential Mueller matrix

“…The presented approach relies on recent works providing a direct physical interpretation of the differential Mueller matrix [29,30]. Based on such framework, we introduce the differential depolarization index, which links depolarization quantification to the covariance matrix of the elementary anisotropic properties of the sample.…”

“…It has recently been demonstrated that a statistical model of the medium optical properties offers a valuable physical insight into the differential Mueller matrix parameters. Actually, if one considers a nondepolarizing differential Mueller matrix whose anisotropic properties randomly fluctuate around their mean values, as proposed by Devlaminck [29], then one can write m m nd Δm nd , where μm m nd and μΔm nd 0, μ denoting the mean value. Using this model, it has been shown that the differential Mueller matrix can be written as…”