Geometrodynamics of Spinning Light

TL;DR

This paper presents a unified theory and experimental verification of the spin Hall effect and Stokes vector precession in light, demonstrating the influence of Berry-phase monopoles on photon dynamics with potential applications in nano-optics.

Contribution

It provides the first direct observation and theoretical framework linking spin-dependent photon deflection and Stokes vector precession to topological Berry-phase monopoles.

Findings

Confirmed the spin Hall effect of photons experimentally.

Observed precession of the Stokes vector along light trajectories.

Validated the role of Berry-phase monopoles in light evolution.

Abstract

The semiclassical evolution of spinning particles has recently been re-examined in condensed matter physics, high energy physics, and optics, resulting in the prediction of the intrinsic spin Hall effect associated with the Berry phase. A fundamental nature of this effect is related to the spin-orbit interaction and topological monopoles. Here we report a unified theory and a direct observation of two mutual phenomena: a spin-dependent deflection (the spin Hall effect) of photons and the precession of the Stokes vector along the coiled ray trajectory of classical geometrical optics. Our measurements are in perfect agreement with theoretical predictions, thereby verifying the dynamical action of the topological Berry-phase monopole in the evolution of light. These results may have promising applications in nano-optics and can be immediately extrapolated to the evolution of massless particles in a variety of physical systems.