Bridging Coherence Optics and Classical Mechanics -- A Universal Light Polarization-Entanglement Complementary Relation

Abstract

While optics and mechanics are two distinct branches of physics, they are connected. It is well known that geometrical/ray treatment of light has direct analogies to mechanical descriptions of particle motion. However, connections between coherence wave optics and classical mechanics are rarely reported. Here we explore links of the two for an arbitrary light field by performing a quantitative analysis of two optical coherence properties: polarization and entanglement (implied by a wave picture of light due to Huygens and Fresnel). A universal complementary identity relation is obtained. More surprisingly, optical polarization, entanglement, and their identity relation are shown to be quantitatively associated with mechanical concepts of center of mass and moment of inertia through the Huygens-Steiner theorem for rigid body rotation. The obtained result bridges coherence wave optics and classical mechanics through the two theories of Huygens.