Waveguiding driven by the Pancharatnam-Berry phase

Abstract: We theoretically and numerically investigate the properties of waveguides based on the Pancharatnam-Berry phase, obtained by a longitudinally periodic rotation of the optic axis in a transversely-twisted birefringent medium. In this paper we study the case where the period of the longitudinal modulation is chosen so that a net accumulation of geometric phase in propagation occurs. First, the interplay between different contributions to the optical potential is addressed. Second, a continuous evolution of the polarization structure of the quasi-modes is observed in the numerical simulations. We explain it by a combination of plane-wave-based models and gauge transformations. We discover that, beyond the longitudinal oscillations, the polarization of the quasi-mode also varies through its cross-section. The analogies with respect to charged particles moving in a magnetic field are outlined.