Circular polarization

About: Circular polarization is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 15201 publications have been published within this topic receiving 234418 citations.

Design of a Reconfigurable Patch Antenna Using the Movement of Liquid Metal

Abstract: A polarization-agility antenna using liquid metal (eutectic gallium indium) with high radiation efficiency is proposed in this letter. This design approach offers possibilities to use the minimum amount of liquid metal as well as elastomer, so that a higher-radiation-efficiency liquid metal antenna can be realized. The proposed design is based on an aperture-coupled patch antenna composed of both liquid metal alloy and copper tape. The polarization of this antenna is controlled by the position of the pressure-driven liquid metal encased in four triangle cavities constructed by both the elastic dielectric material (i.e., Ecoflex) and polyethylene terephthalate film. A prototype is demonstrated with a center frequency of 2.45 GHz. Three kinds of polarization including left-hand circular polarization, right-hand circular polarization, and linear polarization are successfully demonstrated. A radiation efficiency higher than 90% is observed in the measurement.

Magnetic Diagnostics of the Solar Chromosphere with the Mg II h-k Lines

Abstract: We investigated the formation of the Mg II h-k doublet in a weakly magnetized atmosphere (20-100 G) using a newly developed numerical code for polarized RT in a plane-parallel geometry, which implements a recent formulation of partially coherent scattering by polarized multi-term atoms in arbitrary magnetic field regimes. Our results confirm the importance of partial redistribution effects in the formation of the Mg II h and k lines, as pointed out by previous work in the non-magnetic case. We show that the presence of a magnetic field can produce measurable modifications of the broadband linear polarization even for relatively small field strengths (~10 G), while the circular polarization remains well represented by the classical magnetograph formula. Both these results open an important new window for the weak-field diagnostics of the upper solar atmosphere.

Gamma ray vortices from nonlinear inverse Compton scattering of circularly polarized light

Abstract: Inverse Compton scattering (ICS) is an elemental radiation process that produces high-energy photons both in nature and in the laboratory. Non-linear ICS is a process in which multiple photons are converted to a single high-energy photon. Here, we theoretically show that the photon produced by non-linear ICS of circularly polarized photons is a vortex, which means that it possesses a helical wave front and carries orbital angular momentum. Our work explains a recent experimental result regarding non-linear Compton scattering that clearly shows an annular intensity distribution as a remarkable feature of a vortex beam. Our work implies that gamma ray vortices should be produced in various situations in astrophysics in which high-energy electrons and intense circularly polarized light fields coexist. They should play a critical role in stellar nucleosynthesis. Non-linear ICS is the most promising radiation process for realizing a gamma ray vortex source based on currently available laser and accelerator technologies, which would be an indispensable tool for exploring gamma ray vortex science.

Magnetic fields of young solar twins

Abstract: Magnetic fields are present throughout the universe and are very important for many astrophysical processes. Magnetic field influences a star throughout its life and affects nearby objects such as planets. Stellar magnetic field can be detected by measuring the Zeeman splitting of spectral lines in the intensity spectra (Stokes I) if the field is strong, or by analyzing polarization spectra if the field is weak. Magnetic fields in stars similar to the Sun are ubiquitous but, in general, relatively weak. Until recently these fields were detected through circular polarization (Stokes V) only since linear polarization (Stokes QU) is significantly weaker. The information embedded in different Stokes spectra is used for reconstruction of the surface magnetic field topology with Zeeman Doppler imaging (ZDI) technique. However, cool stars often have complex field geometries and this, combined with a low field strength, partial Stokes parameter observations and the presence of cool spots, makes accurate magnetic mapping difficult. We have performed numerical tests of ZDI to investigate some of the problems of magnetic inversions and ways to overcome them. The most reliable results were found when magnetic field and temperature inhomogeneities were modelled simultaneously and all four Stokes parameters were included in the reconstruction process. We carried out observations of active cool stars in all four Stokes parameters trying to find an object with linear polarization signatures suitable for ZDI. The RS CVn star II Peg was identified as a promising target, showing exceptionally strong linear polarization signatures. We reconstructed the magnetic field in II Peg using full Stokes vector observations for the first time in a cool star. Compared to the magnetic maps recovered from the Stokes IV spectra, the four Stokes parameter results reveal a significantly stronger and more complex surface magnetic field and a more compact stellar magnetosphere. Spectropolarimetric observations and magnetic inversions can also be used to investigate magnetic activity of the young Sun and its implications for the solar system past. To this end, we studied a sample of six stars with parameters very similar to the present Sun, but with ages of only 100-650 Myr. Magnetic field maps of these young solar analogues suggest a significant decrease of the field strength in the age interval 100-250 Myr and a possible change in the magnetic field topology for stars older than about 600 Myr.

Elliptical-polarization analyses of synchrotron radiation in the 5–80-eV region with a reflection polarimeter

Abstract: The Stokes parameters, which completely represent the polarization state of light, have been measured in the 5–80-eV energy region for synchrotron-radiation beams on the VUV to soft X-ray beamlines at the Photon Factory. Various states of polarization were produced for the emerging beam by deflecting the incoming beam vertically with respect to the entrance slit of the monochromator with a premirror of the beamline. The resultant beam was polarization-analyzed using a polarimeter comprising two triple-reflection polarizers. Increasing the beam-deflection angle was found to result in a change in the polarization state from predominantly horizontal linear polarization to elliptical polarization. This procedure could be used both to produce and to verify circular polarization with | P c | ≳ 80% in the energy range 60–80 eV, which could be immediately applied to MCD experiments. Unpolarized light could clearly be distinguished from circularly polarized light. The unpolarized component was found to become larger with increasing energy on a soft X-ray beamline; this was shown to be mainly due to scattering by beamline optical elements.