In this work, we develop a hybrid-order Poincaré sphere to describe the evolution of polarization states of wave propagation in inhomogeneous anisotropic media. We extend the orbital Poincaré sphere and high-order Poincaré sphere to a more general form. Polarization evolution in inhomogeneous anisotropic media with special geometry can be conveniently described by state evolution along the longitude line on the hybrid-order Poincaré sphere. Similar to that in previously proposed Poincaré spheres, the Berry curvature can be regarded as an effective magnetic field with monopole centered at the origin of sphere and the Berry connection can be interpreted as the vector potential. Both the Berry curvature and the Pancharatnam-Berry phase on the hybrid-order Poincaré sphere are demonstrated to be proportional to the variation of total angular momentum. Our scheme provides a convenient method to describe the spin-orbit interaction in inhomogeneous anisotropic media.

• Received 3 December 2014

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.91.023801