Polarization fields and wavefronts of two sheets for understanding polarization aberrations in optical imaging systems

Polarization aberrations by highlighting the concepts of polarization aberration fields and of wavefronts of two sheets are explained. The fields have a vector character and are derived from the aberration function of plane symmetric systems. It is shown that in the presence of retardance, an incoming optical field is split into two fields and therefore one can speak of wavefronts of two sheets. Both concepts, polarization aberration fields and wavefronts of two sheets, ease the understanding of polarization aberrations.