Propagation of light polarization in a birefringent medium: Exact analytic models

TL;DR

This paper presents exact analytic solutions for controlling light polarization in birefringent media, using models inspired by quantum systems, enabling robust and broadband polarization manipulation.

Contribution

It introduces exact analytic models for polarization control in birefringent media, drawing analogies with quantum two-state systems, and demonstrates robust manipulation techniques.

Findings

Exact solutions for polarization models

Robust broadband polarization control example

Analogy with quantum two-state systems

Abstract

Driving the analogy between the coherent excitation of a two-state quantum system and the torque equation of motion, we present exact analytic solutions to different models for manipulation of polarization in birefringent medium. These models include the one-dimensional model, the Landau-Zener model, and the Demkov-Kunike model. We also give an example for robust, broadband manipulation of polarization by suitably tailoring the birefringence vector.