AWhat changed
Chiao and Wu applied the geometric phase of adiabatically transported helicity to photons guided along a curved path. For a closed momentum-space circuit they related the helicity-dependent phase to the enclosed solid angle, and proposed optical-fiber interferometry and polarization rotation as observable manifestations.
Scientific scope
Chiao and Wu applied the geometric phase of adiabatically transported helicity to photons guided along a curved path. For a closed momentum-space circuit they related the helicity-dependent phase to the enclosed solid angle, and proposed optical-fiber interferometry and polarization rotation as observable manifestations. The argument assumes a smoothly varying single-mode waveguide and preserved helicity, with negligible linear birefringence and cross-sectional ellipticity. Ordinary optical activity contributes an additional dynamical rotation and must be accounted for. The geometrical angle is unchanged by path deformation only when the enclosed solid angle is preserved; it is not independent of arbitrary deformations. The paper reports a later experimental verification in a note added, but this theory article does not itself supply the experimental data.
Evidence
The linked original works support the scoped statement and contribution attribution. WRS has not independently replayed experiments or reconstructed a full mathematical proof. The argument assumes a smoothly varying single-mode waveguide and preserved helicity, with negligible linear birefringence and cross-sectional ellipticity. Ordinary optical activity contributes an additional dynamical rotation and must be accounted for. The geometrical angle is unchanged by path deformation only when the enclosed solid angle is preserved; it is not independent of arbitrary deformations. The paper reports a later experimental verification in a note added, but this theory article does not itself supply the experimental data.
Contributors
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