Polarimetry

Due to the advent of a new generation of detectors, X-ray polarimetry promises to join X-ray imaging, spectroscopy and timing as one of the main observational techniques in high energy astrophysics. This has renewed interest in the field, and indeed several polarimetric missions have recently been proposed. This volume provides a complete and up-to-date view of the subject for researchers in astrophysics. The contributors discuss the present status and perspectives of instruments, review current theoretical models, and examine future missions. As well as detailed papers, the book contains broad reviews that can be easily understood by astrophysicists new to the field.

A comprehensive review of state-of-the-art techniques, models and research methods in modern astronomical polarimetry.

This book presents the fundamentals of polarimetric radar remote sensing through understanding wave scattering and propagation in geophysical media filled with hydrometers and other objects. The text characterizes the physical, statistical, and electromagnetic properties of hydrometers and establishes the relations between radar observables and physical state parameters. It introduces advanced remote sensing techniques (such as polarimetric phased array radar) and retrieval methods for physical parameters. The book also illustrates applications of polarimetric radar measurements in hydrometer classification, particle size distribution retrievals, microphysical parameterization, and weather quantification and forecast.

Central to this thesis is the characterisation and exploitation of electromagnetic properties of light in imaging and measurement systems. To this end an information theoretic approach is used to formulate a hitherto lacking, quantitative definition of polarisation resolution, and to establish fundamental precision limits in electromagnetic systems. Furthermore rigorous modelling tools are developed for propagation of arbitrary electromagnetic fields, including for example stochastic fields exhibiting properties such as partial polarisation, through high numerical aperture optics. Finally these ideas are applied to the development, characterisation and optimisation of a number of topical optical systems: polarisation imaging; multiplexed optical data storage; and single molecule measurements. The work has implications for all optical imaging systems where polarisation of light is of concern.

This monograph offers a wide array of contemporary information on weather radar polarimetry and its applications. The book tightly connects the microphysical processes responsible for the development and evolution of the clouds’ bulk physical properties to the polarimetric variables, and contains the procedures on how to simulate realistic polarimetric variables. With up-to-date polarimetric methodologies and applications, the book will appeal to practicing radar meteorologists, hydrologists, microphysicists, and modelers who are interested in the bulk properties of hydrometeors and quantification of these with the goals to improve precipitation measurements, understanding of precipitation processes, or model forecasts.

The recent launches of three fully polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) satellites have shown that polarimetric radar imaging can provide abundant data on the Earth’s environment, such as biomass and forest height estimation, snow cover mapping, glacier monitoring, and damage assessment. Written by two of the most recognized leaders in this field, Polarimetric Radar Imaging: From Basics to Applications presents polarimetric radar imaging and processing techniques and shows how to develop remote sensing applications using PolSAR imaging radar. The book provides a substantial and balanced introduction to the basic theory and advanced concepts of polarimetric scattering mechanisms, speckle statistics and speckle filtering, polarimetric information analysis and extraction techniques, and applications typical to radar polarimetric remote sensing. It explains the importance of wave polarization theory and the speckle phenomenon in the information retrieval problem of microwave imaging and inverse scattering. The authors demonstrate how to devise intelligent information extraction algorithms for remote sensing applications. They also describe more advanced polarimetric analysis techniques for polarimetric target decompositions, polarization orientation effects, polarimetric scattering modeling, speckle filtering, terrain and forest classification, manmade target analysis, and PolSAR interferometry. With sample PolSAR data sets and software available for download, this self-contained, hands-on book encourages you to analyze space-borne and airborne PolSAR and polarimetric interferometric SAR (Pol-InSAR) data and then develop applications using this data.

This book focuses on polarization microscopy, a powerful optical tool used to study anisotropic properties in biomolecules, and its enormous potential to improve diagnostic tools for various biomedical research. The interaction of polarized light with normal and abnormal regions of tissue reveals structural information associated with its pathological condition. Diagnosis using conventional microscopy can be time-consuming, as pathologists require an hour to freeze and stain tissue slices from suspected patients. In comparison, polarization microscopy more quickly distinguishes abnormal tissue and provides better microstructural information of samples, even in the absence of staining. This book provides a basic understanding of the properties of polarized light, a description of the polarization microscope, and a mathematical formalism of Mueller matrix polarimetry. The authors discuss various advanced linear and nonlinear optical techniques such as optical coherence tomography (OCT), reflectance and transmission spectroscopy, fluorescence, multiphoton excitation, second harmonic generation, Raman microscopy, and more. They explore the exciting potential of integrating polarimetry with these techniques for possible applications in different areas of biomedical research, as well as the associated challenges. Including the most recent developments on the topic, this book serves as a modern guide to polarization microscopy and advancements in its use in biomedical research.

As the need for accurate and non-invasive optical characterization and diagnostic techniques is rapidly increasing, it is imperative to find improved ways of extracting the additional information contained within the measured parameters of the scattered light. This is the first specialized monograph on photopolarimetry, a rapidly developing, multidisciplinary topic with numerous military, ecological remote-sensing, astrophysical, biomedical, and technological applications. The main objective is to describe and discuss techniques developed in various disciplines to acquire useful information from the polarization signal of scattered electromagnetic waves. It focuses on the state-of-the-art in polarimetric detection, characterization, and remote sensing, including military and environmental monitoring as well as terrestrial, atmospheric, and biomedical characterization. The book identifies polarimetric techniques that have been especially successful for various applications as well as the future needs of the various research communities. The monograph is intended to facilitate cross-pollination of ideas and thereby improve research efficiency and help advance the field of polarimetry into the future. The book is thoroughly interdisciplinary and contains only invited review chapters written by leading experts in the respective fields. It will be useful to science professionals, engineers, and graduate students working in a broad range of disciplines: optics, electromagnetics, atmospheric radiation and remote sensing, radar meteorology, oceanography, climate research, astrophysics, optical engineering and technology, particle characterization, and biomedical optics.