Geometric phase for twisted light

TL;DR

This paper explores the geometric phase effects in twisted light with orbital angular momentum, extending the understanding of polarization rotation in optical fibers to OAM states, with implications for quantum technologies.

Contribution

It introduces a geometric approach to analyze the phase in twisted light, revealing new rotational effects for OAM-carrying photons beyond polarization.

Findings

Geometric rotations exist for twisted light with orbital angular momentum.

The geometric phase can be utilized in quantum computation and sensing.

The method provides a new perspective on light's phase properties.

Abstract

Polarization vectors of light traveling in a coiled optical fiber rotate around its propagating axis even in the absence of birefringence. This rotation was usually explained due to the Pancharatnam-Berry phase of spin-1 photons. Here, we use a purely geometric method to understand this rotation. We show that similar geometric rotations also exist for twisted light carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM). The corresponding geometric phase can be applied in photonic OAM-state-based quantum computation and quantum sensing.