Polarized Electromagnetic Radiation from Spatially Correlated Sources

Abstract

We consider the effect of spatial correlations on sources of polarized electromagnetic radiation. The sources, assumed to be monochromatic, are constructed out of dipoles aligned along a line such that their orientation is correlated with their position. In one representative example, the dipole orientations are prescribed by a generalized form of the standard von Mises distribution for angular variables such that the azimuthal angle of dipoles is correlated with their position. In another example the tip of the dipole vector traces a helix around the symmetry axis of the source, thereby modelling the DNA molecule. We study the polarization properties of the radiation emitted from such sources in the radiation zone. For certain ranges of the parameters we find a rather striking angular dependence of polarization. This may find useful applications in certain biological systems as well as in astrophysical sources.