Nonquantum Entanglement Resolves a Basic Issue in Polarization Optics

Abstract

The issue raised in this Letter is classical, not only in the sense of being nonquantum, but also in the sense of being quite ancient: which subset of 4x4 real matrices should be accepted as physical Mueller matrices in polarization optics? Nonquantum entanglement or inseparability between the polarization and spatial degrees of freedom of an electromagnetic beam whose polarization is not homogeneous is shown to provide the physical basis to resolve this issue in a definitive manner.