Because propagating light consists of a transverse electric and magnetic field, a single photon will oscillate on a line
perpendicular to the propagation direction. If the coordinate system is not aligned with the electric field direction,
it can be broken up into two perpendicular components. Superimposing further harmonic waves results in a sum which is
also a harmonic wave (by the Harmonic Wave Superposition Theorem). The general form of this polarization can be seen as
follows. Since the phase constants can be picked arbitrarily for one vector, pick it equal to 0 for
Circular Polarization, Electric Polarization, Elliptic Polarization, Fresnel-Arago Laws, Linear Polarization, Magnetic Polarization, Polarization Ratio, Polarizer
References
Heiles, C. E. and Drake, F. D. "The Polarization and Intensity of Thermal Radiation from a Planetary Surface." Icarus 2, 281-292, 1963.
Yeh, P. and Gu, C. "Polarization of Optical Waves." Ch. 2 in Optics of Liquid Crystal Displays. New York: Wiley, pp. 22-29, 1999.
