Polarization transformations of multimode light fields

The concept of P-quasispin is used as a framework for developing a formalism for polarization transformation by means of lossless polarization-changing optical elements for both classical and quantum multimode light fields. As an example, a classification of transformations of this kind is presented for two-mode biphoton fields that implement the information-theoretic concepts of qutrit and ququart (quantum systems in three-and four-dimensional Hilbert states, respectively). Original Russian Text ? V.P. Karassiov, S.P. Kulik, 2007, published in Zhurnal éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2007, Vol. 131, No. 1, pp. 37–53.