Mueller polarimetry via nonlocal correlations

We recently demonstrated a nonlocal form of Mueller polarimetry using the polarization correlations of polarization-entangled photons. Classical Mueller polarimetry consists of determining the optical properties of a sample by sending light in a certain number of polarization states and doing polarimetry of the light emerging from the sample for each case. From the input and output Stokes parameters, one determines the Mueller matrix, which contains the polarization properties of the sample. The nonlocal method relies on the correlations of photons in an entangled state, such that polarization projections on one photon not interacting with the sample serve, via correlations, to specify the state of the partner photon incident on the sample. The correlation is completed by projecting the state of the light after the sample and recording coincidence detections. In this study, we investigate the effects of imperfections in the entangled state and quantum statistics on the Mueller matrix that is obtained.