Berry’s phase analysis of polarization rotation in helicoidal fibers

Abstract

We relate Berry's topological phase to the polarization rotation of linearly polarized light in helicoidal single-mode ideal fibers where the pitch length and coil radius are allowed to change adiabatically. First we present an alternative derivation for this phase using the Serret-Frenet coordinate system and show that this phase can be derived and interpreted in terms of both solid and planar angles. The results obtained are then applied to various helicoidal fiber structures, and from this we show that the total change in the polarization rotation angle can be tailored through a judicious choice of the fiber geometry. Finally, we propose that certain helicoidal fiber configurations can be used as fiber sensors.