Spectral changes of vector Gaussian Schell-model beams passing through an aperture lens

On the basis of the polarization matrix and propagation equation of the cross-spectral density matrix, the spectral changes in the focal plane of vector Gaussian Schell-model (GSM) beams focused by an aperture lens are studied, where the influence of correlation and polarizer on the behavior of the spectral switch is stressed. It is found that the critical position u_c, spectral minimum S_min, and transition height Δ of the spectral switch depend on the auto-correlation but do not depend on the cross-correlation of GSM beams if there is no polarizer. However, in the presence of the polarizer u_c, S_min and Δ depend on both auto- and cross-correlations. The polarizer affects the spectral switch of vector GSM beams, whereas it does not affect the spectral switch of scalar GSM beams.