Effects of Finite Surface on Polarization State of Thermal Emission

A comprehensive model for explaining the polarization properties of thermal emission is presented for the case of objects with certain sizes. Using Stokes theory and the superposition principle of a light wave, we analyze the dependence of degree of linear polarization on the spatial geometrical relations including the sizes of objects, the detection distance, and the locations of objects for both metallic and nonmetallic objects, each taken separately.