Information about Elliptical Polarization
In electrodynamics, elliptical polarization is the polarization of electromagnetic radiation such that the tip of the electric field vector describes an ellipse in any fixed plane intersecting, and normal to, the direction of propagation. An elliptically polarized wave may be resolved into two linearly polarized waves in phase quadrature with their polarization planes at right angles to each other.
Other forms of polarization, such as circular and linear polarization, can be considered to be special cases of elliptical polarization.
for the magnetic field, where k is the wavenumber,
is the angular frequency of the wave, and
is the speed of light.
Here
is the amplitude of the field and
is the Jones vector in the x-y plane. Here
is an angle that determines the tilt of the ellipse and 
determines the aspect ratio of the ellipse. If 
and 
are equal the wave is linearly polarized. If they differ by 
they are circularly polarized.
Other forms of polarization, such as circular and linear polarization, can be considered to be special cases of elliptical polarization.
)
Elliptical polarization diagram
Mathematical description of elliptical polarization
The classical sinusoidal plane wave solution of the electromagnetic wave equation for the electric and magnetic fields is (cgs units)
for the magnetic field, where k is the wavenumber,
is the angular frequency of the wave, and
is the speed of light.
Here
is the amplitude of the field and
is the Jones vector in the x-y plane. Here
is an angle that determines the tilt of the ellipse and determines the aspect ratio of the ellipse. If and are equal the wave is linearly polarized. If they differ by they are circularly polarized.
See also
Classical electromagnetism (or classical electrodynamics) is a theory of electromagnetism that was developed over the course of the 19th century, most prominently by James Clerk Maxwell.
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polarization (Brit., polarisation) is the property of electromagnetic waves, such as light, that describes the direction of the transverse electric field. More generally, the polarization of a transverse wave describes the direction of oscillation in the plane
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Electromagnetic (EM) radiation is a self-propagating wave in space with electric and magnetic components. These components oscillate at right angles to each other and to the direction of propagation, and are in phase with each other.
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electric field. This electric field exerts a force on other electrically charged objects. The concept of electric field was introduced by Michael Faraday.
The electric field is a vector field with SI units of newtons per coulomb (N C−1
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The electric field is a vector field with SI units of newtons per coulomb (N C−1
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spatial vector, or simply vector, is a concept characterized by a magnitude and a direction. A vector can be thought of as an arrow in Euclidean space, drawn from an initial point A pointing to a terminal point B.
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ellipse (from the Greek ἔλλειψις, literally absence) is the locus of points on a plane where the sum of the distances from any point on the curve to two fixed points is constant.
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surface normal, or simply normal, to a flat surface is a vector which is perpendicular to that surface. A normal to a non-flat surface at a point P on the surface is a vector perpendicular to the tangent plane to that surface at P.
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linear polarization or plane polarization of electromagnetic radiation is a confinement of the electric field vector or magnetic field vector to a given plane along the direction of propagation. See polarization for more information.
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circular polarization (also circular polarisation) of electromagnetic radiation is a polarization such that the tip of the electric field vector, at a fixed point in space, describes a circle as time progresses.
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linear polarization or plane polarization of electromagnetic radiation is a confinement of the electric field vector or magnetic field vector to a given plane along the direction of propagation. See polarization for more information.
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sine wave or sinusoid is a function that occurs often in mathematics, physics, signal processing, electrical engineering, and many other fields. Its most basic form is:
which describes a wavelike function of time (t) with
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which describes a wavelike function of time (t) with
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The electromagnetic wave equation is a second-order partial differential equation that describes the propagation of electromagnetic waves through a medium or in a vacuum. The homogeneous form of the equation, written in terms of either the electric field E
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centimetre-gram-second system (CGS) is a system of physical units. It is always the same for mechanical units, but there are several variants of electric additions. It was replaced by the MKS, or metre-kilogram-second system, which in turn was replaced by the International
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Wavenumber in most physical sciences is a wave property inversely related to wavelength, having SI units of reciprocal meters (m−1). Wavenumber is the spatial analogue of frequency.
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angular frequency ω (also referred to by the terms angular speed, radial frequency, and radian frequency) is a scalar measure of rotation rate. Angular frequency is the magnitude of the vector quantity angular velocity.
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speed of light in a vacuum is an important physical constant denoted by the letter c for constant or the Latin word celeritas meaning "swiftness".[1] It is the speed of all electromagnetic radiation, including visible light, in a vacuum.
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amplitude is a nonnegative scalar measure of a wave's magnitude of oscillation, that is, the magnitude of the maximum disturbance in the medium during one wave cycle.
Sometimes this distance is called the peak amplitude
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Sometimes this distance is called the peak amplitude
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In optics one can describe polarization using the Jones calculus, invented by R. C. Jones in 1941. Polarized light is represented by a Jones vector, and linear optical elements are represented by Jones matrices.
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Perhaps the most useful solutions to the electromagnetic wave equation are sinusoidal plane-wave solutions. The general solution of the electromagnetic wave equation can be written as a linear superposition of plane-waves of different frequencies and polarizations.
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