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Diffraction-free pulsed optical beams via space-time correlations
Author(s) -
H. Esat Kondakci,
Ayman F. Abouraddy
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
optics express
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.394
H-Index - 271
ISSN - 1094-4087
DOI - 10.1364/oe.24.028659
Subject(s) - diffraction , optics , physics , beam (structure) , monochromatic color , spatial light modulator , monochromatic electromagnetic plane wave , airy beam , transverse plane , structural engineering , engineering
Diffraction places a fundamental limitation on the distance an optical beam propagates before its size increases and spatial details blur. We show here that imposing a judicious correlation between spatial and spectral degrees of freedom of a pulsed beam can render its transverse spatial profile independent of location along the propagation axis, thereby arresting the spread of the time-averaged beam. Such correlation introduced into a beam with arbitrary spatial profile enables spatio-temporal dispersion to compensate for purely spatial dispersion that underlies diffraction. As a result, the spatio-temporal profile in the local time-frame of the pulsed beam remains invariant at all positions along the propagation axis. One-dimensional diffraction-free space-time beams are described - including non-accelerating Airy beams, despite the well-known fact that cosine waves and accelerating Airy beams are the only one-dimensional diffraction-free solutions to the monochromatic Helmholtz equation.