Parachatnam-Berry Phase in Optics: Polarization Propagation in Helical Optical Fibers

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

The Parachatnam-Berry phase (PBP) is a geometric phase associated with the polarization of light propagating in optical systems. Here, we investigate the physical principles underlying the occurrence of PBP for a single-mode light beam propagating in a single-mode optical fiber with no significant stress-induced birefringence wound into a circular helix configuration. We discuss the effects of curvature and torsion of the helical fiber on the rotation of the polarization vector and the associated PBP. We find the analytic solution for the polarization vector and Stokes parameters of the light for any initial polarization state of the light entering the helical fiber, the analytic expression for the PBP of the light for periodic transport of the light, the intensity of a superposition of the initial and final beams which depends on the PBP, and we discuss the effects of fluctuations of the parameters specifying the geometry and the material characteristics of the helical fiber on the PBP. We also discuss the relationship between the PBP and the solid angle subtended by the tangent vector of the helix plotted on the unit sphere.