Optics – Stokes Relations for a Glass Slab

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Stokes relations describes the transmission and reflection coefficients at a boundary between materials of different refractive indices, derived using a time-reversal argument. As far as I understand, this time-reversal argument should also applies to reflection and transmission of light incident on a glass slab (with two boundaries). Let the transmission and reflection coefficients of light incident from the top and bottom surface be $r$, $t$ and $r'$, $t'$ respectively, then we should have the following:

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so the reflection coefficients of light incident from top and bottom have opposite sign.

But from a most basic symmetry argument, shouldn't they be the same regardless of incident direction? They both go from air to glass, and the slab is symmetric.

Why is either of these arguments wrong?

A related question about the front mirror of an optical cavity is here, the answer being that for a mirror the reflected light has $\pi$ shift on the side with coating and no shift on the side without. I know this is the case in reality, but this doesn't answer the question about Stokes relations, because in deriving it no such asymmetry is assumed. So to make the question clearer here I consider just a simple slab with no difference on the two sides.

Best Answer

What you neglected is the multiple interactions at the two air-glass interfaces as described in one of the answers in the link that you have provide about the Fabry-Perot cavity.

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Thus the equations $Ett'+Er^2 = E$ and $Etr'+Ert = 0$ are only valid when considering one air-glass interface, otherwise you have many more rays to consider.

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