Polarization

Ocean is natively a polarized renderer, meaning that the polarization states of light is computed during the simulation.

Polarization state of light

It is a well known fact that the polarization state of electromagnetic radiation such as light can be described by the Stokes parameters, commonly noted I, Q, U and V.

  • I : corresponds to the total intensity (equivalent to the radiance) ;

  • Q : carries information about horizontal or vertical linear polarization. Q = +1 corresponds to horizontally polarized light and Q = -1 corresponds to vertically polarized light ;

  • U : carries information about linear polarization at 45° from horizontal or vertical polarized light ;

  • V : carries information about right or left circular polarization. V = +1 corresponds to right circularly polarized light and V = -1 corresponds to left circularly polarized light.

These 4 parameters are generally put into a vector called the Stokes vector. This Stokes vector paves the entire polarization space, from unpolarized to fully polarized light. Ocean being a spectral renderer, the Stokes vector is computed for each wavelength.

Example of dedicated polarized nodes in Ocean

  • Complex Fresnel interface law

  • Generalized polarized tabulated interface law

  • Polarized tabulated interface law

  • Preset interface law