Geometric phases of light: insights from fibre bundle theory

Abstract

Geometric phases are ubiquitous in physics; they act as memories of the transformation of a physical system. In optics, the most prominent examples are the Pancharatnam-Berry phase and the spin-redirection phase. Recent technological advances in phase and polarization structuring have led to the discovery of additional geometric phases of light. The underlying mechanism for all of these is provided by fibre bundle theory. In this colloquium, we review how fibre bundle theory does not only shed light on the origin of geometric phases of light, but also lays the foundations for the exploration of high dimensional state spaces, with implications for topological photonics and quantum communications.