Measurement of the Pancharatnam phase for a light beam

Abstract

By using a Michelson interferometer arrangement, we have measured the phase shift (the Pancharatnam phase) experienced by a light beam whose state of polarization is made to follow, by successive unitary transformations, a closed circuit on the Poincare sphere. We confirm that the phase shift equals half of the solid angle subtended by the closed circuit at the center of the sphere. This phase is closely related to the topological Berry phase.