Temperature dependent polarization of the thermal radiation emitted by thin, hot tungsten wires

Abstract

We report measurements of the temperature $T $ dependence of the linear polarization $\langle P\rangle $ of the thermal radiation emitted by thin, incandescent tungsten wires. We investigated an interval ranging from a little above room temperature up to melting, $T_m\approx 3700\,$K. These are the first measurements in such wide a range. We found that $\langle P\rangle $ decreases with increasing $T.$ We obtained a satisfactory agreement with the theoretical predictions based on the Kirchhoff's law by using a Drude-type formula for the optical properties of tungsten. The validity of such formula is assessed in literature for $T\leq 2400 \,$K and for wavelengths in the range from visible up to $\lambda\approx 2.6\,\mu$m. We have extended the range of validity of this formula for $T$ up to $T_m$ and for $\lambda$ up to $\approx 12\,\mu$m.