Evaluation of polarization angle rotation of propagating light in a partially ionized atmosphere under discharge conditions

The rotation angle of the polarization of plane of a propagating beam was experimentally measured using a polarization-controlled laser beam, a repeating square mirror, and a discharge apparatus. A rotation angle of 0.29° was obtained for a discharge gap of 5 cm and a charge voltage of 50 kV. This result was in good agreement with a simulation of the experimental model. The waveform of the rotation angle showed a similar time dependence to the discharge current, with a correlation coefficient of >0.94. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 171(3): 1–6, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20954