Polarization involves the vectorial nature of light fields. In current applications of optical science, the electromagnetic description of light with its vector features has been shown to be essential: In practice, optical radiation also exhibits randomness and spatial non-uniformity of the polarization state. Moreover, propagation through photonic devices can alter the correlation properties of the light field, resulting in changes in polarization. All these vectorial properties have been gaining importance in recent years, and they are attracting increasing attention in the literature. This is the framework and the scope of the present book, which includes the authors¿ own contributions to these issues.

Representations of the Polarization of Beamlike Fields.- Second-Order Overall Characterization of Non-uniformly Polarized Light Beams.- Polarization and Coherence of Random Electromagnetic Fields.- Non-Paraxial Electromagnetic Beams.