Abstract
We derived the Berry connection of vector vortex states (VVSs) from the “true” Hamiltonian obtained through the Maxwell-Schrödinger equation for an inhomogeneous anisotropic (IA) medium, and we experimentally demonstrated measurement of the corresponding Pancharatnam-Berry (PB) geometrical phase of VVSs. The PB phase (PBP) of VVSs can be divided into two phases: homogeneous and inhomogeneous PBPs. Homogeneous and inhomogeneous PBPs are related to the conventional PBP and the spatially dependent geometric phase given by an IA medium such as a polarization converter, respectively. We theoretically detected that inhomogeneous PBP accumulation originates from the gauge dependence of the index of the hybrid-order Poincaré sphere, which provides an alternate method for understanding optical spin-orbital angular momentum conversion. The homogeneous PBP, which is explicitly observed, has implications for quantum-state manipulation and information processing.
- Received 9 February 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.94.043851
©2016 American Physical Society