A Berry phase is revealed for circularly polarized light when it is Bragg reflected by a chiral liquid-crystal medium of the same handedness. By using a chiral nematic layer we demonstrate that if the input plane of the layer is rotated with respect to a fixed reference frame, a geometric phase effect occurs for the circularly polarized light reflected by the periodic helical structure of the medium. Theory and numerical simulations are supported by an experimental observation, disclosing novel applications in the field of optical manipulation and fundamental optical phenomena.
Berry Phase of Light under Bragg Reflection by Chiral Liquid-Crystal Media / Barboza, R.; Bortolozzo, U.; Clerc, M. G.; Residori, S.. - In: PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS. - ISSN 0031-9007. - ELETTRONICO. - 117:5(2016), p. 053903. [10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.053903]
Berry Phase of Light under Bragg Reflection by Chiral Liquid-Crystal Media
Barboza R.
;
2016-01-01
Abstract
A Berry phase is revealed for circularly polarized light when it is Bragg reflected by a chiral liquid-crystal medium of the same handedness. By using a chiral nematic layer we demonstrate that if the input plane of the layer is rotated with respect to a fixed reference frame, a geometric phase effect occurs for the circularly polarized light reflected by the periodic helical structure of the medium. Theory and numerical simulations are supported by an experimental observation, disclosing novel applications in the field of optical manipulation and fundamental optical phenomena.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
