Evolution of polarization of an electromagnetic wave propagating in magnetized plasma: Comparison between two alternative formalisms

Two alternative formalisms for the analysis of the evolution of electromagnetic wave polarization in a magnetized plasma are considered: the coupled wave formalism and the Stokes vector formalism. The first formalism is developed and extended to more general magnetic field configurations than considered hitherto, thus obtaining a new polarization evolution equation. The two formalisms are compared and their relative merits and limitations are described. In particular, it is shown that the equations for polarization evolution are valid for arbitrarily strong anisotropy induced by the magnetic field and that these equations treat implicitly the effect of coupling between the characteristic waves. [doi:10.1063/1.3631700]