Superluminal pulse reflection from a weakly absorbing dielectric slab

Group delay for a reflected light pulse from a weakly absorbing dielectric slab is theoretically investigated, and large negative group delay is found for weak absorption near a resonance of the slab [Re(kd)=mpi]. The group delay for both the reflected and transmitted pulses will be saturated with an increase of the absorption.     

Collisions of unipolar subcycle pulses in a nonlinear resonantly absorbing medium

Collisions of unipolar subcycle pulses in a nonlinear resonant medium that coherently interact with it are studied theoretically. The dynamics of spatial polarization structures and population difference that the pulses induce in the medium are analyzed. A surprising feature is that the medium is capable of “remembering” the result of the interaction with the pulses and their collisions during times comparable to the polarization relaxation time. An analysis of the dynamics of light-induced structures makes it possible to judge the parameters of subcycle pulses at the times longer than the pulse duration, which, in the future, can be useful in their detection.     

Superluminal pulse propagation in an erbium fiber laser

It is well known that saturating gain media can give rise to superluminal pulse propagation velocity. In most mode-locked lasers the effect is unmeasurably small and has not yet been directly demonstrated. We present experiments on the initial transient of an erbium fiber laser that show a dynamic shift in the propagation velocity to a value larger than the medium’s linear group velocity as the pulse builds up. Received: 14 December 1998 / Revised version: 21 May 1999 / Published online: 25 August 1999     

The manipulation of light pulse from subluminal to superluminal propagation in a degenerate two-level Cs atomic system

We experimentally demonstrate the propagation of light pulse from subluminal to superluminal light based on quantum coherence in a degenerate two-level atomic system in a Cs vapor cell.It is shown that the group velocity of light pulse can be switched from subluminal to superluminal propagation via changing the coupling field from a traveling wave to a standing wave,while can also be continuously manipulated by varying the intensity of two waves superposed to form a standing wave.The observed maximum delay and advance times are about 0.45 and 0.54μs,corresponding to the group velocity of g=168km/s and g=138 km/s,respectively.This investigation may have the practical applications of devices for optical tunable delay lines,optical switching and optical buffering.     

Light propagation from subluminal to superluminal in a three-level Λ-type system

We show that the group velocity of a weak electromagnetic pulse can be manipulated by adjusting the relative phase of the probing and the pumping fields applied to a Λ-type three-level system, whose two lower states are coupled by an external control magnetic field. Such control field can, in principle, cause the light propagation to be changed from subluminal to superluminal by modulating the relative phase. The same effect can be obtained by varying the intensities of the pumping and the control magnetic fields, but it is different with Agarwal's [Phys. Rev. A 64 (2001) 053809]. The effect of Doppler broadening on the dispersion is also investigated.     

Small-area ultrashort pulse propagation through a three-level medium

Propagation of an ultrashort, small-area (circularly polarized) pulse through a gas medium of three-level atoms near one-photon resonance is studied. The expression for the propagating pulse shape is obtained within the rotating wave and dipole approximations. Results are compared, both analytically and numerically, with those for two-level model. Sinusoidal and Gaussian shapes of input pulses are compared, and a high sensitivity of modulation of the light pulse for envelope to its input shape is revealed.     

On the velocity of propagation of a frequency-modulated wave packet in a dispersive absorbing medium

It is shown that the velocity of propagation of a frequency-modulated wave packet through a strongly dispersive absorbing medium can be significantly different from (either higher or lower than) that of a non-frequency-modulated wave packet. This difference is attributed to the absorption dispersion of the medium. The easiest way to take the absorption dispersion into account is to use the formalism of the complex group velocity of a wave packet. This paper considers the propagation of a linear frequency-modulated wave packet, whose carrier frequency is close to the frequency of a spectral absorption line of the medium.     

超短脉冲激光在硝基苯胺分子材料中的非共振传播

通过严格求解麦克斯韦-布洛赫方程,研究了超短脉冲激光与硝基苯胺分子材料的非共振相互作用.研究结果表明,当脉冲激光在该分子介质中以电荷转移态的激发能的二分之一非共振传播时,脉冲激光频谱中明显地出现了二次谐波成分,显示了该分子具有较强的双光子吸收性质.     

Superluminal propagation in resonant dissipative media

We analyse the superluminal propagation of optical narrow-band pulses at resonances in dissipative media. We find that, for a broad class of optical systems holding this type of lossy faster-than-light transmission capability, the output waveform is an attenuated, time-advanced version of the input which can be interpreted as the result of the interference of two scaled replicas of the input having a positive relative delay. This analysis is shown to apply, among other scenarios, both in the propagation in a passive bulk medium at an electronic resonance and in a dielectric waveguide coupled to a lossy micro-ring resonator.     

Simulation of the propagation of a light pulse in a randomly inhomogeneous medium

The propagation of a Gaussian pulse in an inhomogeneous medium is considered. The detected pulse is represented as a series in the scattering multiplicities. The developed approach enables one to describe the passage of a pulse through a randomly inhomogeneous medium in the general case, beyond the framework of the diffusion approximation. The known results of the diffusion approximation are shown to represent limiting cases of the expansion constructed in the scattering multiplicities. The calculations are performed by the Monte Carlo method for cases of singly and multiply scattering media. The agreement between the results of the theoretical analysis and the numerical simulation allows one to use the approach developed in both optical problems and investigation of propagation of waves of other nature, in particular, seismic waves.     

On the theory of short light pulse propagation in a turbulent medium

We consider the problem of propagation of light pulses in a turbulent medium. Within the framework of the used approximation, we obtain a formula for the average intensity of the pulsed signal. Using this formula, we estimate the time delay of the pulse and its broadening. We find the characteristic time scales determining the light pulse transformation in a turbulent medium. The physical meaning of these time scales is explained qualitatively. The quantitative estimates for the Earth’s atmosphere show that the phenomena in question are significant only for very short, picosecond pulses. a. M. Obukhov Institute of the Physics of Atmosphere, Moscow, Russia Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 43, No. 7, pp. 456–467, September, 2000.     

Description of pulse propagation in a dispersive medium by use of a pulse quality factor

We investigated how the duration of short laser pulses evolves in a dispersive material, using rms widths and a propagation law based on a pulse quality factor. Experiments were carried out with femtosecond pulses (10 to 25fs at the temporal waist) propagating in bulk fused silica. Excellent agreement was found between theory and experiment. This approach does not require complete characterization of laser pulses and eliminates the need for any assumption regarding the interpretation of autocorrelation traces. The method is of general validity, and it can be applied to pulses of arbitrary shape.     

On the propagation of a light pulse in a layer of an amplifying medium

The inferences of a paper by N.S. Bukhman on the appearance of waves with opposite directions of the phase and group velocities in a layer of an amplifying medium (Opt. Spectrosc. 123 (5), 783 (2017)) are analyzed. It is shown that these inferences need additional substantiation.     

Nonlinear dynamics of negatively refracted light in a resonantly absorbing Bragg reflector

The evolution of nonlinear light fields traveling inside a resonantly absorbing Bragg reflector is studied by use of Maxwell-Bloch equations. Numerical results show that a pulse initially resembling a light bullet may effectively experience negative refraction and anomalous dispersion in the resonantly absorbing Bragg reflector.     

光脉冲在激光放大介质中的非线性传播

 在考虑了激光放大介质中基质的克尔非线性效应和群速度色散以及活性粒子的增益分布后，导出了光脉冲在激光放大介质中传播的基本方程。并在光脉冲中心频率与介质增益峰值频率时重合时，对皮秒超高斯光脉冲在钕玻璃激光放大介质中传播的脉冲形状进行了分析讨论。     

Steady pulse propagation in an inhomogeneously broadened resonant medium

Steady propagation of a single pulse in an inhomogeneously broadened resonant medium is studied. 2π-pulse solutions which are slightly different from those given in the literature are reported and it is shown that π-pulse solutions do not exist.     

光脉冲在激光放大介质中的非线性传播

在考虑了激光放大介质中基质的克尔非线性效应和群速度色散以及活性粒子的增益分布后,导出了光脉冲在激光放大介质中传播的基本方程。并在光脉冲中心频率与介质增益峰值频率时重合时,对皮秒超高斯光脉冲在钕玻璃激光放大介质中传播的脉冲形状进行了分析讨论。