Volume 138, number 9 PHYSICS LETTERS A 17 July 1989

SYNTHESIS OF GENERAL POLARIZATION TRANSFORMERS.

A GEOMETRIC PHASE APPROACH

Rajendra BHANDARI
Raman Research Institute, Bangalore 560 080, India

Received 17 April 1989; revised manuscript received 3 May 1989; accepted for publication 10 May 1989
Communicated by J.P. Vigier

Using a generalized form of Jordan’s formulation of the geometric phase problem it is shown that a single gadget capable of
realising an arbitrary element of the polarization transformation group SU (2) can be constructed using two half-wave plates and
two quarter-wave plates. For special transformations, simpler, practical gadgets are proposed.

1. Introduction

A series of experiments reported recently [1—5]to

study the Pancharatnam phase [6], which is a geo- R (RH C)
metric phase change acquired by a polarized beam
of light when it undergoes a cycle of changes in its

care sphere (PS) which is a very useful and elegant

way of representing, on the one hand, the states of
polarization of a monochromatic plane wave of light
polarization state, has focused attention on the Poin-
and on the other, transformations ofthe polarization x+
state [71.According to the parametrization used in
this paper, a point with angular coordinates (0, 0)
on the surface of the sphere represents a wave with L (L H C) - -

an amplitude c1_—cos(0/2)e~’2to be in the right-

hand circularly polarized (RHC) state and an am-
plitude c t2
o be in the left-hand cir-
2 = sin (0/2)
cularly polarized e~’~state. An element of the
(LHC)
unitary polarization transformation group (the three-
parameter SU (2) group) is represented by a rota-
tion by a certain angle ö (fig. 1) about an axis pass-
ing through the centre of the PS and a chosen point
P on the sphere, say (0~,00). The action of such a
rotation on a given state is represented by a circular
arc on the sphere, lying in the plane normal to the
rotation axis, starting with the representative state
point V and with angular length 5.
Another class of geometric phase experiments in-
volve cyclic changes in the direction of the spin vec-
tor of a particle; in case of light beams this particle
Fig. 1. When a rotation by angle ô about an axis through P (0~,øo)
is applied to a state represented by the point V on the PS, the
evolution is described by the arc VW and the dynamical phase is
given by — cos fi, as described in the text. For/Jr~90°,the evo-
lution is along a geodesic, as described by the arc V’W’.
being the photon [81. These are understood in terms
of closed circuits traced out by the k-vector of the
light beam on a “sphere of directions”. In connec-
tion with such experiments, Jordan has proved an
elegant result [9], a discrete version of which would
state: if you start with a vector pointing in a direc-
tion k
0, apply to it a series of rotations R~(0~),
R~2(02) R~~(0~) that take the vector to k1, k2

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(North-Holland Physics Publishing Division)
Volume 138, number 9 PHYSICS LETTERS A
k0=k0 (where R~,(O1)represents a rotation about an
axis normal to the plane containing k_1 and k,, 0, is
the angle between k,_1 and k1), such that the “state
point” on the state space, namely the sphere of di-
rections, describes a closed circuit consisting of n
geodesic arcs, then the product of these n rotations
is equivalent to a single rotation about an axis de-
fined by k0, by an angle equal to the solid angle sub-
tended by the circuit at the origin of the sphere. The
above result for the rotation group SO(3) can be ap-
plied to any group which has the same structure as
SO(3), hence to the polarization transformation
group SU (2), which is realised by rotations on the
PS. Since the emphasis in Jordan’s work is on de-
riving Berry’s phase [101, the restriction to special
rotations, leading to geodesic arcs, is natural and de-
sirable. We take the view, however, that the signif-
icance of this result transcends its role in deriving
Berry’s phase and that it is a more general result. This
is so because it refers to what a product of transfor-
mations does to the entire state space, whereas Ber-
ry’s phase is a statement ofwhat it does to a few states
which are the eigenstates of this product of trans-
formations. For this reason, it is useful to extend the
analysis to circuits which include non-geodesic arcs,
i.e. rotations other than the special ones considered
in In [91.
ref.this Letter we shall first propose a more general
form of Jordan’s result which is applicable to any
closed circuit on the state sphere involving geodesic
as well as non-geodesic arcs. This is easier to appre-
ciate in connection with the SU(2) group acting on
the PS, but trivially extendable to the SO (3) group
acting on the sphere of directions in view of their
homomorphism. We shall then apply this result to an
important synthesis problem in optics, namely con-
struction of a single gadget capable of realising an
arbitrary element of the SU(2) group in polarization
optics using only commonly available elements like
quarter-wave plates (QWPs) and half-wave plates
(HWPs) and rotating them about the beam. We shall
also synthesize simpler, practical gadgets that realise
a more restricted but useful class of transformations.
A gadget which rotates an arbitrary state on the PS
about the polar axis by a variable amount, i.e., in-
troduces a variable phase between the RHC and the
LHC states shall be called a “variable circular retar-
der”, specified by one parameter. A gadget that ro-
470
17 July 1989
tates any state on the PS about an axis lying in the
equatorial plane of the PS, i.e., introduces a variable
phase between a pair of orthogonal linear polariza-
tions lying on the axis of rotation, shall be called a
“variable linear retarder”, specified by two param-
eters. QWPs and HWPs are special cases of this for
90° and 180°rotation. Finally a gadget which pro-
duces a variable rotation about an arbitrarily chosen
axis on the PS, i.e., produces a variable phase be-
tween a pair of orthogonal elliptical polarizations
lying on the axis of rotation, shall be called a “van-
able general elliptic retarder”, specified by three
parameters.
2. Generalization of Jordan’s result
The total phase change suffered by a light beam
subjected to a sequence of n transformations which
take a state represented by a point P on the PS along
a closed circuit consisting of n circular arcs (geo-
desic or non-geodesic), is a sum of two parts: (i) a
geometric phase Og which is equal to minus half the
solid angle subtended by the area enclosedby the cir-
cuit and (ii) a dynamical phase ôd which is a sum of
the dynamical phases contributed by5deachcan of
bethe cir-
calcu-
cular arcs constituting the circuit.
lated using the Aharanov—Anandan criterion [11]:
5d= (i/h)J<H> dt, where H is the Hamilto-
—
nian In the basis of the pair of orthogonal states
~.
which are the eigenstates of the rotation correspond-
ing to the circular arc, the quantity (i/h)JHdt is
represented by the diagonal matrix with elements
+ó/2 and —~/2,where ö is the angle of rotation on
the PS (the total phase introduced between the two
base-states) and the dynamical phase is given by
= (ic
— c
2 2) ó/2, where c1 and c2 are the
amplitudes of the polarization state along the two
base states. From fig. 1, c1 = cos (13/2), c2 =
sin(fl/2). This gives ôd=—~äcosfl. For 13=90°
(geodesic arcs like V’W’), öd=O. To complete the
prescnption for the total dynamical phase, let us note
that in addition to the transformations represented
by the finite circular arcs, one can also have trans-
formations with 13=0, i.e., arbitrary rotations about
‘° A trivial dynamical phase which is independent of the state of
polarization oflight has been thrown away.
Volume 138, number 9 PHYSICS LETTERS A 17 July 1989

each of the nodes of the circuit when the beam is in
the polarization state represented by that node. These
arcs have null linear extent on the sphere, but con-
tribute a dynamical phase equal to minus half the
rotation angle which must be added to the dynam-
ical phase sum.
The obvious generalization ofJordan’s result would
be: the above product rotation is equivalent to a ro-
tation about P by an angle equal to minus twice the
total phase change as defined above. This result can
be trivially carried over to the SO (3) group acting
on the sphere of directions; the product rotation being
equal to the solid angle of the circuit plus the sum of
the quantities ö cos /3for each of the arcs plus the an-
gles of rotation about each node.
Let us consider two examples of general circuits.
(1) Consider the closed circuit (fig. 2) consisting of
the geodesic RM, the small circle MU and the geo-
desic UR. The product of these three rotations that
leave the point R invariant is equal to a rotation
about R by an angle equal to the sum of (i) the solid
angle subtended by the spherical triangle RMU, equal
to ~a (1 cos 0) and (ii) minus twice the dynamical
— QWP and a HWP respectively [121. There have been
phase contributed by the arc MU, amounting to
~a cos 0. The sum is equal to ~a, i.e., the angle be-
tween the two geodesic arcs, and is independent of
0. (2) Consider the sequence of the three rotations
(fig. 2): a rotation about the point Q by 90°,rep-
resented by the arc MH, followed by a rotation about
the point H by 180°,followed by a rotation about
the point diametrically opposite to Q by 90°,rep-
resented by the arc HM. This sequence is equivalent
to a rotation about the point M by 180°.All other
contributions are zero.
3. Synthesis of general polarization transformers
In this section we shall show that (i) a variable
circular retarder (VCR) can be synthesized using two
HWPs (HH’), (ii) a variable linear retarder (VLR)
can be synthesized using two QWPs and one HWP
in the configuration QHQ and (iii) a variable gen-
eral elliptic retarder (VGER) can be synthesized us-
ing two HWPs and two QWPs in the configuration
(QHQ’ )H’, the symbols Q and H standing for a
a few earlier attempts at such syntheses by Jones
[13J C2 and Simon et al. [14,15] using a larger
~,

number of plates (except for VCR where we arrive

at the same gadget as Simon et al.).

3.1. The synthesis of VCR

R
~ Consider a closed circuit starting with R, consist-
/ ing of the two geodesics RQL and LSR in fig. 2. The
M / preceding discussion implies that the sequence ofthe
U LINEAR two rotations represented by these two geodesics is
0 X ±45 equivalent to a rotation about the axis OR by an an-
H go-C a/2’ gle equal to the solid angle enclosed, i.e., a. Each of
\Q ~ the two geodesics represents a rotation about an axis
in the equatorial plane and represents a HWP. The
gadget H(~+~a)H(,1),for any represents a ro-
~,

tator that rotates any point on the PS by an angle a

L about the polar axis OR. The angles in the paren-
theses refer to the angles made by the fast axes of the
Fig. 2. (i) The sequence of rotations represented by the pair of
geodesic arcs RQL and LSR synthesizes a rotation about the axis i2The author concludes that a VCR can be synthesized using
OR through an angle a. (ii) The sequence of arcs QL, LSR and two QWPs and a VLR and a VLR with two QWPs and a VCR.
RQ synthesize a rotation about the axis OQ through an angle a ~ In ref. [14] the authors conclude that a VGER can be synthe-
and (iii) a rotation about Q by 90°,followed by a rotation by sized using six wave plates (four HWPs and two QWPs), a
180°about H, followed by a rotation by —90°about Q synthes- VLR using four wave plates (two HWPs and two QWPs) and
ize a rotation by 180°about the point M. a VCR using two wave plates (two HWPs).

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Volume 138, number 9 PHYSICS LETTERS A 17 July 1989

wave plates with the x-axis in real space. We use the
convention that anticlockwise rotations while look-
ing into the beam correspond to anticlockwise no-
tations on the PS.
3.2. The synthesis of VLR
Consider the closed circuit (fig. 2) consisting of
the three geodesic arcs: (i) QL, representing a QWP
Q, (ii) LSR, representing an HWP H and (iii) RQ,
representing a QWP Q. The sequence of these three
rotations are equivalent to a rotation about the axis
OQ, by an angle equal to the solid angle enclosed,
i.e., a. The gadget
Q(45°+’ )H(—45°+’a+’ )Q(45°+’ )
2~1 4 2~1 2~1
consisting of a rotatable HWP sandwiched between
two identically oriented QWPs represents a rotation
about an axis through the azimuth ~ on the PS by an
angle a. The retardation value is varied by rotating
the HWP with respect to the QWPs and the axis of
rotation on the PS is varied by rotating the entire
gadget about the beam axis,
3.3. The synthesis of VGER
for convenience of display, ~ has been taken to be
90°and a to be negative. Consider the closed circuit
made by the two geodesic semicircular arcs PB’ P’
and P’FP differingin longitude by ~ct.The sequence
of these two rotations is a rotation about P by an an-
gle a. The first arc PB’P’ represents a rotation
through 180° about the azimuth 180°,i.e., a half-
wave plate H[90°]. The second arc P’FP represents
a rotation about the point M (fig. 3) on the tilted
equator, with azimuth ~a on the tilted equator. Let
0, 0 be the angular coordinates of M on the PS, the
untilted coordinate system. What we need next to
complete the synthesis of the VGER is to synthesize
a rotation through 180°about a general point M on
the PS. Let us go back to fig. 2, where the point M
is shown with azimuth 0. Going to a different azi-
muth is trivial; the synthesized gadget is rotated as
a whole by an angle equal to halfthe azimuth change.
As discussed before, the sequence of the three ro-
tations: (i) a rotation about Q through 90°,(ii) a
rotation about H through 180°and (iii) a rotation
through —90°about Q is equivalent to a rotation
about M through 180°.With these ingredients, the
synthesis is complete. The gadget for a rotation about
a point P(00, ~) by an angle a is

Q(90°+~Ø+)H(~0—45°+~Ø+~)
Let us consider a rotation about a point P (0~,~)
on the PS by an angle a, as shown in fig. 3, where Q(~0+~)H(45°
+~j),

where 0 and 0 are the solutions of the equations

cos0=—sin~asin00, (1)
sin OcosØ=sin ~acos00 (2)
R and
/ sin OsinØ=—cos ~a. (3)
It can easily be verified that for 0~= 0, the above
LINEAR gadget becomes equivalent to HH’, i.e., a VCR, and
A B X for 0~=90°,it becomes equivalent to QHQ, i.e., a

- “ 4. Summa~and conclusion
L We have presented an application of geometric

Fig. 3. A rotation of 180°about — X axis, followed by a rotation phase (?) ideas in the solution of a very practical
of 180°about the point M synthesizes a rotation by a about ia’. problem in optics. The gadget QHQ for a VLR
The latteris synthesized as shown in fig. 2. should, in particular, find many practical uses. We

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Volume 138, number 9 PHYSICS LETTERSA 17 July 1989

believe that our gadgets use the minimum number of References

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of parameters). The method of synthesis used here [1] R. Bhandari and J. Samuel, Phys. Rev. Lett. 60 (1988)1211.
should find application in other problems which in- [2] R. Bhandari, Phys. Lett. A 133 (1988) 1.
volve decomposition of a general rotation (trans- [3] R. Simon, H.J. Kimble and E.C.G. Sudarshan, Phys. Rev.
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namical phase that depends on the state of polari- Time reversal of Berry’s topological phase by optical phase
zation. In ref. [14], this is called the “SU(2) dy- conjugation,
[6]S. preprint.
Pancharatnam, Proc. Indian Acad. Sci. A 44 (1956) 247.
namical phase” and the unimportant part, which is [7] G.N. Ramachandran and S. Ramaseshan, Handbuch den
independent of the polarization state is called the Physik, Vol. 25, part I (Springer, Berlin, 1961).
“U (1) dynamical phase”. [8] A. Tomita and R.Y. Chiao, Phys. Rev. Lett. 57 (1986) 937.
[9] T.F. Jordan, J. Math. Phys. 29 (1988) 2042.
[l0]M.V.Berry, Proc. R. Soc. A 392 (1984) 45.
[11] Y. Aharonov and J. Anandan, Phys. Rev. Lett. 58 (1987)
Acknowledgement 1593.
[12] Talk given at Workshop on Quantum optics, Panjim, Goa
I thank S. Sridhar for several illuminating discus- (18—22 March, 1989).
sions on the subject and Professor Mukunda for [13] R.C. Jones, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 31(1941) 500.
sending me his work prior to publication. [14] R. Simon, N. Mukunda
theoryofturns— and E.C.G. Sudarshan,
a new representation Hamilton’s
forpolarization optics,
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[15] N. Mukunda, Talk given at the Raman Centenary
Symposium, Bangalore (12—15 December 1988).

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