Optical analog of Rashba spin-orbit interaction in asymmetric polariton waveguides

We demonstrate that for a one-dimensional asymmetric polariton waveguide, coupling between the fundamental and the excited modes leads to the emergence of splitting in circular polarizations. This splitting scales linearly with the polariton momentum along the channel and the corresponding effective magnetic field is perpendicular to both the direction of propagation and the axis of asymmetry of the system. The effect thus represents a full optical analog of the Rashba spin-orbit interaction.