Matrix-based integral transformations for Stokes imaging with partially polarized and partially coherent light

With the aid of the matrix-based integral transforms called matrix convolution and matrix direct correlation, we provide a simplified expression for the space- and frequency-domain calculations of polarization imaging with partially polarized and partially coherent light. As an example of practical interest, a formula for Stokes imaging, based on the generalized Stokes parameters, is presented, in which a hypermatrix-based transmission cross-coefficient matrix is introduced to represent the combined effects of diffraction and aberrations of a polarization-dependent imaging system and a partially polarized, partially coherent illumination system. The coherent and incoherent limits in Stokes imaging are discussed with the optical transfer matrix, along with its frequency response for a diffraction-limited incoherent polarization imaging system. A generalized concept of the apparent transfer matrix is introduced to deal with the nonlinearity inherent in the polarization imaging system under partially coherent illumination.