A simple and useful model for Jones matrix to evaluate higher order polarization-mode dispersion effects

Starting from the differential equation that relates the Jones matrix of a polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) fiber to its output dispersion vector, the analytical expressions of the matrix coefficients are determined in the case of a dispersion vector rotating on a circumference in the Stokes space. This model, that needs only few parameters with known statistics, is applied to evaluate the performance of an optical system. The results obtained with it and with other models proposed in literature are compared to those evaluated by numerical simulations with all-order PMD effects, showing that our model gives an accurate representation of real system performances.