title: Slow-light birefringence and polarization interferometry.
abstract: By performing two-beam coupling experiments in a liquid-crystal light valve, we report a large slow-light birefringence (SLB) phenomenon, with orthogonal polarization states traveling at very different group velocities. We show that SLB can be exploited for realizing a common-path polarization interferometer able to detect phase variations with enhanced sensitivity.
authors.affiliation: Institut non Linéaire, Université de Nice Sophia-Antipolis, CNRS, 1361 Route des Lucioles, 06560 Valbonne, France. umberto.bortolozzo@inln.cnrs.fr
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Bortolozzo
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Residori
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Huignard