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Fully covering (and measuring) the Poincaré sphere and other polarization manifolds
Fully covering (and measuring) the Poincaré sphere and other polarization manifolds
Date & Time
29 September 2026
6:00 AM PT | 13:00 UTC
Speaker: Miguel Alonso, Institut Fresnel (France)
Abstract:
The Poincaré sphere is an abstract geometric representation for the different possible states of polarization of paraxial light. This talk will consist of two parts, both connected to this type of representation. The first part will concentrate on what can be termed skyrmion-like polarization textures, which correspond to fields in which the polarization properties cover completely a spherical (or hyperspherical) parameter space over a plane, a volume, or a space-time region. For fields with spatially varying polarization, this spherical parameter space can be the Poincaré sphere, or the sphere of directions for a property of the field oscillations. I will discuss several different implementations of this type of field that cover not only a standard sphere but a 3D or 4D hypersphere. The second part of the talk will be devoted to the polarization of paraxial coherent beams composed of two different but commensurate frequencies. For these fields, the Poincaré sphere must be replaced by a different manifold.
Concepts such as the geometric phase or the coherent states for bichromatic light will be discussed, as well as the mathematical analogy between bichromatic polarization and the spatial modes of astigmatic laser cavities. The description will rely on geometric interpretations rather than on equations.
Read the speaker's biography.
Date & Time
29 September 2026
6:00 AM PT | 13:00 UTC
29 September 2026
6:00 AM PT | 13:00 UTC
Speaker: Miguel Alonso, Institut Fresnel (France)
Abstract:
The Poincaré sphere is an abstract geometric representation for the different possible states of polarization of paraxial light. This talk will consist of two parts, both connected to this type of representation. The first part will concentrate on what can be termed skyrmion-like polarization textures, which correspond to fields in which the polarization properties cover completely a spherical (or hyperspherical) parameter space over a plane, a volume, or a space-time region. For fields with spatially varying polarization, this spherical parameter space can be the Poincaré sphere, or the sphere of directions for a property of the field oscillations. I will discuss several different implementations of this type of field that cover not only a standard sphere but a 3D or 4D hypersphere. The second part of the talk will be devoted to the polarization of paraxial coherent beams composed of two different but commensurate frequencies. For these fields, the Poincaré sphere must be replaced by a different manifold.
Concepts such as the geometric phase or the coherent states for bichromatic light will be discussed, as well as the mathematical analogy between bichromatic polarization and the spatial modes of astigmatic laser cavities. The description will rely on geometric interpretations rather than on equations.
Read the speaker's biography.
The Poincaré sphere is an abstract geometric representation for the different possible states of polarization of paraxial light. This talk will consist of two parts, both connected to this type of representation. The first part will concentrate on what can be termed skyrmion-like polarization textures, which correspond to fields in which the polarization properties cover completely a spherical (or hyperspherical) parameter space over a plane, a volume, or a space-time region. For fields with spatially varying polarization, this spherical parameter space can be the Poincaré sphere, or the sphere of directions for a property of the field oscillations. I will discuss several different implementations of this type of field that cover not only a standard sphere but a 3D or 4D hypersphere. The second part of the talk will be devoted to the polarization of paraxial coherent beams composed of two different but commensurate frequencies. For these fields, the Poincaré sphere must be replaced by a different manifold.
Concepts such as the geometric phase or the coherent states for bichromatic light will be discussed, as well as the mathematical analogy between bichromatic polarization and the spatial modes of astigmatic laser cavities. The description will rely on geometric interpretations rather than on equations.
Read the speaker's biography.
Presenter:
Presenter:
Miguel Alonso
Miguel Alonso
Institut Fresnel (France)
Institut Fresnel (France)