Process / pipelinePolarization

Jones Calculus

Jones calculus is a mathematical formalism for analyzing the propagation and manipulation of polarized light using vectors and matrices. Developed by Robert Clark Jones in 1941, it represents the electric field of a coherent optical beam as a two-component complex vector (Jones vector) and optical elements as matrices (Jones matrices), enabling elegant tracking of polarization through optical systems.

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Sources

  1. Jones, R. C. (1941). A new calculus for the treatment of optical systems: I. Description and discussion of the calculus. Journal of the Optical Society of America, 31(7), 488-493. DOI: 10.1364/JOSA.31.000488
  2. Born, M., & Wolf, E. (1980). Principles of Optics (6th ed.). Pergamon Press. link
  3. Goldstein, D. H. (2003). Polarized Light (2nd ed.). Marcel Dekker. link

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Referenced by

ScholarGateJones Calculus (Jones Calculus for Polarized Light). Retrieved 2026-06-04 from https://scholargate.app/en/optics/jones-calculus