Theoretical and experimental study of the dynamics of polarization-mode dispersion

The dynamic distribution of the state of polarization (SOP) is studied theoretically and experimentally for aerial fibers with a finite polarization-mode dispersion (PMD). A dynamic mode coupling wave-plate model is proposed to describe the SOP correlation and account for the PMD variations. It is found that the model can closely describe the experimental dynamic correlation of the SOP for an aerial fiber. A new algorithm for PMD emulation is developed.