Effects of coherence on the degree of polarization in a young interference pattern

Opt Lett. 2006 Mar 15;31(6):688-90. doi: 10.1364/ol.31.000688.

Abstract

Recent predictions concerning the relationship between the degree of polarization at a typical point of a Young interference pattern and the degree of coherence of the electromagnetic field at the pinholes are tested by a simple experiment. In particular, it is shown that light that is completely unpolarized at the pinholes can become partially polarized across the fringe pattern.