This project describes the fundamental concepts and basic theory of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in optical fibers. There are described basic the relation between Jones vectors and Stokes vectors, rotation matrices, the definition and representation of PMD vectors, the laws of infinitesimal rotation. After the introduction the first conception with bases of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in optical fibers, they have become an important body of knowledge basic for the design of high-capacity optical communication systems. PMD effects are linear electromagnetic propagation phenomena occurring in so-called “single-mode“fibers. Despite their name, these fibers support two modes of propagation distinguished by their polarization. Because of optical birefringence in the fiber, the two modes travel with different group velocities, and the random change of this birefringence along the fiber length results in random coupling between the modes. With current practical transmission technology the resulting PMD phenomena lead to pulse distortion and system impairments that limit the transmission capacity of the fiber. I describe different ways of measuring PMD in optical fibre, PMD compensation techniques and analyse PMD results in optical fibres.

In astronomy, the Sun has an important role. It keeps the solar-system together and is thesource for life, heat, light and energy to Earth. As any other star or planet, the Sun has amagnetic field. The magnetic field of the Sun has a great impact on the Sun itself as well asits surrounding. The magnetic field shapes solar wind, causes flares and drives coronal massejections radiating towards the Earth (and other planets). The Sun's magnetic field is still notfully understood, and therefore it is useful to study other stars with properties similar to theSun. So by studying young solar-type stars, the evolution of the Sun can be more easilyunderstood. The aim of this project is to study the surface magnetic field in a youngsolar-type star, π1 UMa to see how the magnetic field is distributed and if there are anypatterns like polarity reversals. Magnetic field generates polarisation and with Stokes vector Iand V, polarisation can be described. Earlier measurements from two time-epochs (2014 and2015) of Stokes I and V have been obtained from the spectropolarimeter NARVAL. To getthe desired mean polarisation profiles of the star, a technique called least squaredeconvolution was applied which increases the signal-to-noise level. To reconstruct themagnetic topology the Zeeman-Doppler imaging technique was used. Then we obtained thesurface magnetic field maps of both measurements. No change of the polarity of magneticfield at the visible stellar pole was found. Most of the magnetic field energy was contained inthe spherical harmonic modes with angular degrees l=1-3. The star shows dominance in thetoroidal component so the study seem to agree with the previously established trend thatyounger and faster rotating stars have predominantly toroidal magnetic fields and older starswith slower rotation rate, like the Sun, have predominantly poloidal field. Looking at themagnetic field plots, the star show dominance in the azimuthal field component, and themean magnetic field strength is similar to one found in the previous study. The results of thesurface magnetic field in our study thus agrees with previous study of the same star. With thiswe can conclude that the Sun's magnetic field probably been different when it was younger, and possibly similar to the star analyzed in this study.

Precipitation is a dominating quantity in microwave radiometry. The large emission and scattering signals of rain and ice, respectively, introduce large contributions to the measured brightness temperature. While this allows for accurate sensing of precipitation, it also results in degraded performance when retrieving other geophysical parameters, such as near-surface ocean winds. In particular, the retrieval of wind direction requires precise knowledge of polarization, and nonspherical particles can result in a change in the polarization of incident radiation. The aim of this dissertation is to investigate the polarizing effects of precipitation in the atmosphere, including the existence of a precipitation signal in the third Stokes parameter, and compare these effects with the current sensitivities of passive wind vector retrieval algorithms. Realistic simulated precipitation profiles give hydrometeor water contents which are input into a vector radiative transfer model. Brightness temperatures are produced within the model using a reverse Monte Carlo method. Results are produced at three frequencies of interest to microwave polarimetry, 10.7 GHz, 18.7 GHz, and 37.0 GHz, for the first 3 components of the Stokes vector.

Tkáňová optika nabývá rychle na významu a přesná znalost optických vlastností biologických tkání je podstatná pro výzkum v biomedicíně i pro kontrolu kvality potravin. Jestliže je vzorek tkáně osvětlen, dochází k mnohonásobnému odrazu světla. V případě postmortem neživých tkání (maso) je rozměr buněk větší než vlnová délka použitého světla. Dochází k Mieovu rozptylu prošlého nebo zpět odraženého světla, v důsledku čehož se objevují různé polarizační stavy světla. Polarizační stavy světla rozptýleného na difúzním prostředí jsou experimentálně zkoumány a modelovány. V práci jsme provedli dva modifikované experimenty: rozptyl polarizovaného světla, které dvakrát prochází vzorkem (vpřed a vzad) a jen světla, které jen prochází vzorkem. Měření rozptýleného světla ukazuje, že dochází k depolarizaci a ke stáčení polarizační roviny, což obojí závisí na orientaci svalových vláken a stárnutí tkání postmortem. Mimo experimentů byl také proveden teoretický popis difúzní biologické tkáně a byla vypočtena radiační přenosová rovnice pomocí modifikované Monte Carlo metody, která zahrnuje polarizační stav světla (PLMC). Je ukázáno, že stupeň polarizace podstatně závisí na optických vlastnostech rozptylového prostředí. Výsledky ukazují, že stav polarizace světla na výstupu závisí na stavu polarizace světla před vzorkem a na optických vlastnostech a tloušťce vrstvy prostředí v průběhu jejího stárnutí. Je také provedena korelace změn polarizace na čerstvosti masa, i popis dynamického chování polarizace při stárnutí masa.

This master's thesis deals with the analysis of the optical power measurement using an optical fiber sensor. The thesis contains the theoretical background to understand the origin of polarization and its representation in space using Poincaré’s sphere and Stokes vectors. There is also a part describing optical performance measurement and the preview of analog measurements from various researches. Practical part focuses on verification of changes of fiber sensor parameters at temperature change in its surroundings and this part includes also additional suggestions for various types of measurements and verification of the function of the photodiode as an optical power transducer. Most measurements are based on the comparison of results obtained with the polarimeter. The results were plotted and discussed.