Theory of mixed-polarization propagation in anisotropic cubic media

Polarization dynamics are considered in the presence of an anisotropic Kerr non-linearity in the most common semiconductor waveguide geometry. The equations of motion are formulated in terms of Stokes polarization parameters and their Hamiltonian form is derived. Stationary solutions and their stability are found for plane-wave propagation. It is found that the non-integrable problem of mixed-polarization spatial soliton dynamics can be largely explained in terms of the equivalent plane-wave solutions.