Related papers: Axial spectral encoding of space-time wave packets
When an optical pulse is focused into a multimode waveguide or fiber, the energy is divided among the available guided modes. Consequently, the initially localized intensity spreads transversely, the spatial profile undergoes rapid…
Although a plethora of techniques are now available for controlling the group velocity of an optical wave packet, there are very few options for creating accelerating or decelerating wave packets whose group velocity varies controllably…
Spatial structuring of an optical pulse can lead in some cases upon free propagation to changes in its temporal profile. For example, introducing conventional angular dispersion into the field results in the pulse encountering…
Controlling the group velocity of an optical pulse typically requires traversing a material or structure whose dispersion is judiciously crafted. Alternatively, the group velocity can be modified in free space by spatially structuring the…
The group delay incurred by an optical wave packet depends on its path length. Therefore, when a wave packet is obliquely incident on a planar homogeneous slab, the group delay upon traversing it inevitably increases with the angle of…
Space-time wave packets (STWPs) are a new class of pulsed optical beams with many unique and intriguing attributes, including propagation invariance and tunable group velocity in linear optical media. STWPs are a form of spatiotemporally…
All known realizations of optical wave packets that accelerate along their propagation axis, such as Airy wave packets in dispersive media or wave-front-modulated X-waves, exhibit a constant acceleration; that is, the group velocity varies…
We study the dynamics of space-time non-diffracting wavepackets, commonly known as light bullets, in a spatiotemporally varying medium. We show that by spatiotemporal refraction, a monochromatic focused beam can be converted to a light…
Airy beams, celebrated for their self-acceleration, diffraction-free propagation, and self-healing properties, have garnered significant interest in optics and photonics, with applications spanning ultrafast optics, laser processing,…
Introducing angular dispersion into a pulsed field tilts the pulse front with respect to the phase front. There exists between the angular dispersion and the pulse-front tilt a universal relationship that is device-independent, and also…
Because surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are surface waves characterized by one free transverse dimension, the only monochromatic diffraction-free spatial profiles for SPPs are cosine and Airy waves. Pulsed SPP wave packets have been…
Space-time modulation of refractive index can produce synthetically moving interfaces with arbitrary apparent velocities, including superluminal motion, offering new ways to control light in dynamic media. On the other hand, space-time wave…
Airy waves, known for their non-diffracting and self-accelerating properties, have been extensively studied in spatial and temporal domains, but their spatiotemporal (ST) counterparts remain largely unexplored. We report the first…
The refraction of space-time (ST) wave packets offers many fascinating surprises with respect to conventional pulsed beams. In paper (I) of this sequence, we described theoretically the refraction of all families of ST wave packets at…
Space-time light structuring has emerged as a very powerful tool for controlling the propagation dynamics of pulsed beam. The ability to manipulate and generate space-time distributions of light has been remarkably enhanced in past few…
Space-time wavepackets (STWPs) have received significant attention since they can propagate in free space at arbitrary group velocity without dispersion and diffraction. However, at present, the generation of STWPs has been limited to the…
Propagation-invariant or non-diffracting optical beams have received considerable attention during the last two decades. However, the pulsed nature of light waves and the structured property of optical media like waveguides are often…
The refraction of space-time (ST) wave packets at planar interfaces between non-dispersive, homogeneous, isotropic dielectrics exhibit fascinating phenomena, even at normal incidence. Examples of such refractive phenomena include…
Space-time modulated metasurfaces have attracted significant attention due to the additional degree of freedom in manipulating the electromagnetic (EM) waves in both space and time domains. However, the existing techniques have limited wave…
We report on the diffraction-free propagation of space-time wave packets (STWPs) -- a class of propagation-invariant pulsed beams -- for $\sim\!1$ km in an open-air laser range in a low-turbulence scenario. Making use of $\approx\!100$-fs…