Abigail Hovorka | 2026 I.S. Symposium
Name: Abigail Hovorka
Title: The Memory of Light: Investigating a Nonlinear Phase Accumulation in the Polarization Transformations of Light
Major: Physics
Minors: Mathematics; Classical Studies
Advisor: Cody Leary
Depending on how the polarization of light evolves, it can accumulate subtle phase changes. This project investigates a nonlinear phase known as geometric phase, which, in this experiment, depends not on the distance light travels, but on the path it takes through different polarization states. In this research, a laser beam with controlled polarization was sent through an interferometer, where it was split into two paths. One path retained the initial polarization, while the second path passed through a birefringent crystal. Adjusting the crystal tilt angle caused the polarization of the second beam to evolve continuously. The experiment was repeated for different initial polarization states while rotating the crystal over the same tilt-angle range, ensuring consistency across data runs. When the two beams were recombined, they produced interference patterns based on differences in their polarizations. Across runs with various initial polarizations, the resulting interference patterns showed clear beating patterns and systematic shifts in interference extrema, providing qualitative evidence of a rapid phase shift approaching 蟺. Although a precise numerical value of the phase shift was not determined, the observed behavior aligns with theoretical predictions from a heuristic model and the Poincar茅 sphere representation. What makes this project particularly interesting is the combination of experimental optical research with theoretical modeling, allowing for comparisons between predicted and observed behavior. Future work could involve exploring additional crystal orientations and tilt angles, improving experimental control over tilt angle increments, and refining the theoretical model to better predict how polarization changes contribute to geometric phase.
Posted in Symposium 2026 on May 1, 2026.
