Optical Eddies in Small-Mode Fibers: II. The Spin-Orbit Interaction

摘要

The nature of the topological phase of optical eddies in a small-mode fiber is studied. It is shown that the topological phase results from precession of the Poynting vector of the normal wave and characterizes the polarization correction #delta##beta# to the propagation constant. The operator of spin-orbit interaction of normal eddies is constructed. The average physical value of this operator is equal to the polarization correction #delta##beta#. The operator of spin-orbit interaction consists of two parts. One part determined polarization corrections to CV-eddies and the second one, polarization corrections to TE- and TM-modes. Such a separation of the operator into two parts, which describe different optical processes, implies that two types of birefringence take place in the locally isotropic inhomogeneous medium.