https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/s13360-023-04210-y
Regular Article
Stochastic and corpuscular theory of (polarized) light
Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Na Slovance 1999/2, 18200, Prague 8, Czech Republic
Received:
30
March
2023
Accepted:
30
May
2023
Published online:
7
August
2023
Both the corpuscular theory of light and the theory of stochastic processes are well known in the literature. However, they are not systematically used together for description of optical phenomena. There are optical phenomena, such as the well-known three-polarizer experiment or other phenomena related to polarization of light, which have never been quantitatively and qualitatively explained using the concept of quantum of light (photon). The situation changed in 2022 when stochastic memoryless and independent (IM) process formulated within the framework of the theory of stochastic processes was introduced. It is suitable for determination of probability (density) functions characterizing interaction (transmission or reflection) of individual photons with optical elements on the basis of experimental data. The process has memoryless (Markov) property, and it is assumed that the interactions of individual photons with an optical system are independent. Formulae needed for analysis of data in the context of polarization of light are derived. An example analysis of the three-polarizer experiment is performed and numerical result of the probability (density) functions are determined. These original results were missing in the literature. The results imply that the possibilities of the corpuscular theory of light to describe optical phenomena can be significantly extended with the help of stochastic IM process and the theory of stochastic processes in general.
© The Author(s) 2023
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