Abstract

We consider the depolarization of multimode laser radiation in a nonlinear anisotropic medium. The multimodal structure of the radiation leads to the smoothing of irregularities in the polarization of the light that propagates through the medium. With respect to depolarization, the anisotropic medium is shown to behave as the isotropic one does when the intensity of the radiation is sufficiently high. The characteristic depolarization lengths in some media are evaluated.

© 1993 Optical Society of America

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