Solutions to the dynamical equation of polarization-mode dispersion and polarization-dependent losses

We study the evolution of optical signals in single-mode optical fibers in the presence of polarization-mode dispersion and polarization-dependent los ses. Two geometric vectors on the Poincare sphere are defined to characteri ze the effects of polarization-mode dispersion and polarization-dependent l osses on the optical field in the fiber. By solving the dynamical equation for these two vectors, several general statistical results are The practica lly important weak polarization-dependent-loss situation is discussed in de tail. obtained. (C) 2000 Optical Society of America [S0740-3224(00)02011-7] .