1997/03/28 by D. Han, Y. S. Kim, Marilyn E. Noz
Physics and Astronomy · #physics.optics #cond-mat #hep-th
paper · pdf · doi:10.1364/josaa.14.002290
RevTeX, 27 pages, no figures, to be published in J. Opt. Soc. Am. A
arxiv created 1997/03/28 · arxiv updated 2009/11/30
It is shown that the two-by-two Jones-matrix formalism for polarization optics is a six-parameter two-by-two representation of the Lorentz group. The attenuation and phase-shift filters are represented respectively by the three-parameter rotation subgroup and the three-parameter Lorentz group for two spatial and one time dimensions. It is noted that the Lorentz group has another three-parameter subgroup which is like the two-dimensional Euclidean group. Possible optical filters having this Euclidean symmetry are discussed in detail. It is shown also that the Jones-matrix formalism can be extended to some of the non-orthogonal polarization coordinate systems within the framework of the Lorentz-group representation.