H. Kuratsuji et S. Kakigi, MAXWELL-SCHRODINGER EQUATION FOR POLARIZED-LIGHT AND EVOLUTION OF THESTOKES PARAMETERS, Physical review letters, 80(9), 1998, pp. 1888-1891
By starting with the Maxwell theory of electromagnetism, we study the
change of polarization state of light transmitting through optically a
nisotropic media. The basic idea is to reduce the Maxwell equation to
the Schrodinger-like equation for two levels (or states) representing
polarization. By using the quantum mechanical technique, the density m
atrix, and path integral, the evolution of the Stokes parameters resul
ts in the equation of motion fur a pseudospin representing a point on
the Poincare sphere. Two typical examples relevant to actual experimen
ts are considered; the one gives the generalized Faraday effect, and t
he other realizes an optical analog of magnetic resonance.