Julien Flamant

This work introduces polarimetric Fourier phase retrieval (PPR), a physically-inspired model to leverage polarization of light information in Fourier phase retrieval problems. We provide a complete characterization of its uniqueness properties by unraveling equivalencies with two related problems, namely bivariate phase retrieval and a polynomial autocorrelation factorization problem. In particular, we show that the problem admits a unique solution, which can be formulated as a greatest common divisor (GCD) of measurements polynomials. As a result, we propose algebraic solutions for PPR based on approximate GCD computations using the null-space properties Sylvester matrices. Alternatively, existing iterative algorithms for phase retrieval, semidefinite positive relaxation and Wirtinger-Flow, are carefully adapted to solve the PPR problem. Finally, a set of numerical experiments permits a detailed assessment of the numerical behavior and relative performances of each proposed reconstruction strategy. They further demonstrate the fruitful combination of algebraic and iterative approaches towards a scalable, computationally efficient and robust to noise reconstruction strategy for PPR.

Quaternions are still largely misunderstood and often considered an “exotic” signal representation without much practical utility despite the fact that they have been around the signal and image processing community for more than 30 years now. The main aim of this article is to counter this misconception and to demystify the use of quaternion algebra for solving problems in signal and image processing. To this end, we propose a comprehensive and objective overview of the key aspects of quaternion representations, models, and methods and illustrate our journey through the literature with flagship applications. We conclude this work by an outlook on the remaining challenges and open problems in quaternion signal and image processing.