Polarization squeezing and new states of light in quantum optics

The concept of squeezing is discussed for multimode quantum light beams with the consideration of polarization using the polarization gauge SU (2) invariance of free electromagnetic fields. We separate the polarization degrees of freedom from other ones, and consider uncertainty relations characterizing polarization observables. As a consequence, we obtain a new classification of polarization states of light within quantum optics.     

Low-order light scattering in multiple scattering disperse media

Light scattering has been investigated in systems in which both single and higher order scattering occur. The Monte Carlo simulation technique for studying light scattering in randomly inhomogeneous, strongly scattering disperse media was employed. The reliability of the data obtained has been checked by comparing the results of the computer simulation with analytical calculations for the intensity of doubly scattered light. The first several scattering orders have been analyzed for different geometries of the optical experiment. It has been shown, in particular, that, depending on the detector aperture, the contribution of multiple scattering can vary by almost an order of magnitude.

     

高散射媒质中的光程可分割动态光散射研究

为研究散射光强度随光子在散射媒质中散射光程的变化,基于单散射理论与扩散波光谱理论,采用了低相干动态光散射装置对不同粒径大小的聚苯乙烯悬浮液进行研究。将测量得到的背散射光光场强度谱的线宽与相应的理论计算结果相比较发现,在短光程区域,考虑容器壁附近拖曳效应的影响后,对于不同粒径的颗粒,光程为约5倍粒子平均自由程的区域可看成为单散射区域;对于光程大于225 m的区域可看成为扩散光波区域。实验结果表明低相干动态光散射法可实现高散射媒质从单散射区域到低次散射再到扩散区域的全光程的可分割的光场强度谱测量。     

Diffuse light scattering in dispersed media

Russian Physics Journal -     

Propagation and scattering of light in stratified media

The propagation and scattering of light in stratified media are considered. Based on the Maxwell equations, the present approaches to the solution of these problems are formulated in a unified way. The particular features of the wave propagation in stratified media are discussed. Scalar and vector fields are considered. Media with small-and large-scale regular inhomogeneities are examined. The construction of the Green’s function of the wave equation in a spatially homogeneous medium is discussed. Stratified isotropic and anisotropic media are analyzed. The scattering of light in a stratified medium is studied with emphasis on the Kirchhoff method, as this makes it possible to obtain calculation formulas in a form convenient for comparing the theory with the experiment. The propagation of waves in photonic crystals and the formation of forbidden zones in such objects are briefly considered.     

Multiple scattering of light in superdiffusive media

Light transport in superdiffusive media of finite size is studied theoretically. The intensity Green's function for a slab geometry is found by discretizing the fractional diffusion equation and employing the eigenfunction expansion method. Truncated step length distributions and complex boundary conditions are considered. The profile of a coherent backscattering cone is calculated in the superdiffusion approximation.     

IMAGING: Focusing light in scattering media

Combining ultrasonic modulation and optical phase conjugation allows light to be tightly focused in a scattering medium, providing benefits for studies of photophysical, photochemical and photobiological processes.     

Polarization visualization of scattering media with CW laser radiation

The method of polarization visualization of a multiply scattering medium containing macroinhomogeneities based on analysis of polarization spatial distribution of a scattered linearly polarized light is discussed. The treatment is based on statistical properties of the effective optical path distribution of scattered field components. The influence of media scattering properties and the geometry of the experiment on the inhomogeneity image contrast obtained with use of polarization degree and of normalized scattered intensity of radiation as visualization parameters are discussed, as well as spatial resolution achieved in these both cases. Using the results of theoretical analysis and of the experimental model, the relationship between the shapes of spatial distributions of polarization degree and the intensity of the scattered light is considered as a function of the position of the visualized object (an absorbing half-plane immersed in a plane layer of the scattering medium). The opportunities for enhancing the quality of the images formed in this way are also discussed.     

Attenuation of collimated light beams in scattering media

The effect of singly side-scattered light on the attenuation of collimated light beams in turbid media is investigated. Correction formulas for the exponential attenuation law are derived for the case where the viewing angles of the receiving system and radiation source are equal. The ranges in which the corrections are important in the propagation of light beams in haze, fog, and rain are indicated. It is shown that the range of solid angles in which the angular dependence of the scattered light can be neglected is defined by the inequality 1.1, where p is the Mie parameter; the solid angle determines the divergence of the light beam, which is equal in this case to the viewing angle of the receiving system.     

Polarization optics of biphotons

The works devoted to studying the polarization properties of a two-photon light generated upon spontaneous parametric down-conversion in the collinear frequency-degenerate regime are briefly overviewed, with emphasis on the studies carried out by us over a period from 1999 to 2001 within the framework of the project “Polarization Optics of Biphotons” of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research. In particular, the polarization state of a two-photon light was analyzed and its pictorial mapping onto the Poincaré sphere was proposed. The experiments on polarization transformations of a two-photon light were performed; based on these transformations, a method was suggested for ternary quantum information coding. A two-photon state with the orthogonal photon polarizations was synthesized experimentally from the two beams of identically polarized correlated photons, and the spectral properties of this state were investigated. Finally, a method was suggested for measuring the polarization state of a two-photon light in the collinear frequency-degenerate case (“tomography”).     

Cross photoelastic and thermorefractive light scattering in continuous media

Two additional types of light scattering in continuous media are considered. One is the cross photoelastic scattering from density fluctuations caused by thermodynamic temperature fluctuations and the other is the cross thermorefractive scattering from temperature fluctuations caused by density fluctuations, which manifest themselves in propagation of elastic sound waves. Expressions for the light scattering coefficients for these two types of scattering are obtained. The integral intensities of scattered light are shown to be comparable with the well-known integral intensities of light scattering by fluctuations of density (pressure) and temperature (entropy) for some substances.     

On geometric optics and surface waves for light scattering by spheres

A geometric optics approach including surface wave contributions has been developed for homogeneous and concentrically coated spheres. In this approach, a ray-by-ray tracing program was used for efficient computation of the extinction and absorption cross sections. The present geometric-optics surface-wave (GOS) theory for light scattering by spheres considers the surface wave contribution along the edge of a particle as a perturbation term to the geometric-optics core that includes Fresnel reflection–refraction and Fraunhofer diffraction. Accuracies of the GOS approach for spheres have been assessed through comparison with the results determined from the exact Lorenz–Mie (LM) theory in terms of the extinction efficiency, single-scattering albedo, and asymmetry factor in the size–wavelength ratio domain. In this quest, we have selected a range of real and imaginary refractive indices representative of water/ice and aerosol species and demonstrated close agreement between the results computed by GOS and LM. This provides the foundation to conduct physically reliable light absorption and scattering computations based on the GOS approach for aerosol aggregates associated with internal and external mixing states employing spheres as building blocks.     

Geometrical optics approximation for light scattering by absorbing spherical particles

By means of geometrical optics, an approximation method is presented to compute the light scattering intensity of absorbing spherical particles illuminated by a plane wave. For absorbing particles, the effective refractive index and the effective refractive angle are related to the complex refractive index and incident angle. The formulas for calculation of the break of phases of reflection and refraction, which are different from the case of transparent particles, are exactly derived. Verification of the geometrical optics approximation (GOA) was performed by case studies and comparison of the present results with the Mie scattering. It is found that agreement between the GOA and the Mie theory is excellent in forward directions for weakly/moderately absorbing particles. Differently, for strongly absorbing particles, good agreement between the calculation methods is in the forward directions and large scattering angles. The agreement between the GOA and the Mie theory is better for larger particles.     

Monte-Carlo simulation of light scattering in fractal porous media

Monte-Carlo simulation of light propagation in a porous medium with a mass fractal morphology was carried out. It was shown that the simulation results can be used to analyze experimental data on light scattering and to study the porous medium structure. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 2, pp. 193–196, March–April, 2008.     

Anomalous polarization effects during light scattering in random media

The dependence of the intensity of light backscattered from a layer of a randomly inhomogeneous medium on the polarization of incident light and the size of scatterers has been investigated. The results of numerical simulation have demonstrated that the direction of rotation of the plane of polarization is different in systems with small- and large-scale inhomogeneities. It is shown for the first time that the dependence of the sign of the residual circular polarization on the size of scatterers can be observed in systems described by the Henyey-Greenstein phase function used in simulating biological tissues. A similar anomalous polarization effect, which consists in changing the direction of rotation of the plane of polarization of backscattered light with an increase in the scattering angle, is revealed in studying the coherent backscattering component. These polarization effects are observed in light backscattering from optically active media.     

Focusing coherent light through opaque strongly scattering media

We report focusing of coherent light through opaque scattering materials by control of the incident wavefront. The multiply scattered light forms a focus with a brightness that is up to a factor of 1000 higher than the brightness of the normal diffuse transmission.