BIFROST: A First-Principles Model of Polarization Mode Dispersion in Optical Fiber

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Banner, Patrick R., Rolston, Steven L., Britton, Joseph W.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Banner, Patrick R.
Rolston, Steven L.
Britton, Joseph W.
author_facet Banner, Patrick R.
Rolston, Steven L.
Britton, Joseph W.
contents We present BIFROST, a first-principles model of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in optical fibers. Unlike conventional models, BIFROST employs physically motivated representations of the PMD properties of fibers, allowing users to computationally investigate real-world fibers in ways that are connected to physical parameters such as environmental temperature and external stresses. Our model, implemented in an open-source Python module, incorporates birefringence from core geometry, material properties, environmental stress, and fiber spinning. We validate our model by examining commercial fiber specifications, fiber-paddle measurements, and published PMD statistics for deployed fiber links, and we showcase BIFROST's predictive power by considering wavelength-division-multiplexed PMD compensation schemes for polarization-encoded quantum networks. BIFROST's physical grounding enables investigations into such questions as the sensitivity of fiber sensors, the evaluation of PMD mitigation strategies in quantum networks, and many more applications across fiber technologies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2510_01212
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle BIFROST: A First-Principles Model of Polarization Mode Dispersion in Optical Fiber
Banner, Patrick R.
Rolston, Steven L.
Britton, Joseph W.
Optics
Quantum Physics
We present BIFROST, a first-principles model of polarization mode dispersion (PMD) in optical fibers. Unlike conventional models, BIFROST employs physically motivated representations of the PMD properties of fibers, allowing users to computationally investigate real-world fibers in ways that are connected to physical parameters such as environmental temperature and external stresses. Our model, implemented in an open-source Python module, incorporates birefringence from core geometry, material properties, environmental stress, and fiber spinning. We validate our model by examining commercial fiber specifications, fiber-paddle measurements, and published PMD statistics for deployed fiber links, and we showcase BIFROST's predictive power by considering wavelength-division-multiplexed PMD compensation schemes for polarization-encoded quantum networks. BIFROST's physical grounding enables investigations into such questions as the sensitivity of fiber sensors, the evaluation of PMD mitigation strategies in quantum networks, and many more applications across fiber technologies.
title BIFROST: A First-Principles Model of Polarization Mode Dispersion in Optical Fiber
topic Optics
Quantum Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.01212