Interaction of nonlinearity and polarization mode dispersion

Abstract. The derivation of the coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equation and the Manakov-PMD equation is reviewed. It is shown that the usual scalar nonlinear Schrödinger equation can be derived from the Manakov-PMD equation when polar-ization mode dispersion is negligible and the signal is initially in a single polarization state as a function of time. Applications of the Manakov-PMD equation to studies of the interaction of the Kerr nonlinearity with polarization mode dispersion are then discussed. There has been a flood of recent work on polarization effects in optical fibers, most of it focused on polarization mode dispersion (PMD). There are good, practical reasons for this recent interest. As the data rate per channel increases, PMD becomes an increas-ingly important limitation in communication systems. However, my own interest in polarization issues was, at least originally, focused on more fundamental questions. Since nearly all the contributions in this volume focus on the more immediate practical issues that are a consequence of polarization effects, it seemed useful to me to focus this contribution on more fundamental issues. The nice thing about fundamenta