  We study optical properties of arrays of ultrathin nanowires by means of the
Brillouin scattering of light on magnons. We employ the Stokes/anti-Stokes
scattering asymmetry to probe the circular polarization of a local electric
field induced inside nanowires by linearly polarized light waves. We observe
the anomalous polarization conversion of the opposite sign than that in a bulk
medium or thick nanowires with a great enhancement of the degree of circular
polarization attributed to an unconventional refraction in the nanowire medium.
