Abstract

We show the existence of different regimes in spatial evolution of depolarization in turbid media characterized by a diagonal Mueller matrix (pure depolarizer). Experimental results previously published already established the existence of a first regime, where the depolarization follows a parabolic law with the thickness of stationary medium traveled by light. New experiments first confirm the existence of a second regime, which we have previously demonstrated, where the depolarization follows a linear law on a large scale. They also confirm the existence of much more complex evolution laws even under small-scale approximation. A stochastic approach is proposed to model the phenomenon. It perfectly describes all these different experimental results and allows us to analyze the behavior of the polarization in the case of solid or liquid scattering media. The influence of the measurement setup is also analyzed.

© 2016 Optical Society of America

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