The far-zone behavior of the degree of polarization of electromagnetic beams propagating through atmospheric turbulence

• DOI: 10.1016/j.optcom.2004.01.005
• Publication Date: 2004-01-22T10:20:17Z
• Authors: Olga Korotkova; Mohamed Salem; Emil Wolf
• Keywords: Degree of polarization; Atmospheric optics

It is shown analytically that the degree of polarization of a beam generated by an electromagnetic Gaussian Schell-model source which propagates through atmospheric turbulence tends to its value at the source plane with increasing distance of propagation. This result is independent of the spectral degrees of correlation of the source and of the strength of atmospheric turbulence. These conclusions are illustrated by a numerical example.