Superluminal Signals and the Resolution of the Causal Paradox

The experimental evidence for electromagnetic signals propagating with superluminal group velocity is recalled. Transformations of space and time depending on a synchronization parameter, e₁, indicate the existence of a privileged inertial system. The Lorentz transformations are obtained for a particular e₁≠0. No standard experiment on relativity depends on e₁, but if accelerations are considered only e₁=0 remains possible. The causal paradox generated by superluminal signals (SLS) in the theory of relativity does not exist in the theory with e₁=0. The irrelevance of SLS for the Einstein, Podolsky and Rosen paradox is pointed out.     

超光速群速度与信息传输的有效速度

研究了反常色散介质中脉冲形变对超光速群速度的影响,发现即使光脉冲完全不产生形变群速度仍会超过真空中的光速。但波包的群速度并不等同于信号的传输速度,采用信息论方法,定义了信号的有效传输速度,并用于解释WKD(Wang,Kuzmich,Dogariu)实验。通过计算入射光与出射光信号所携带的信息量,发现由于光的波动衍射及光子散粒噪声的影响,出射光所携带的信息量会损失,使得光信号的有效传播速度不会超过真空中的光速。     

Dual properties of spacetime under an alternative Lorentz transformation

In flat spacetime, the fourth space coordinate in special relativity (SR) is equivalent to the coordinate time t_E. We will show, however, that this definition of physical time is not unique. Another natural choice of coordinate time, t_A, with absolute synchronization is allowed. Spacetime would exhibit dual properties, namely relativistic and absolute. In an arbitrary inertial frame, the relationship of the above two kinds of coordinate time corresponds to a resynchronization, and the Lorentz transformations can be written in an alternative form, which is called the generalized Galilean transformation (GGT). Although the absolute property is still hidden in nearly all types of experiments, the advantages of the above approach are as follows: (1) It will give us a deeper understanding of SR, including the basis of length contraction, time dilation and the interaction between moving objects and the physical vacuum. (2) It will provide a wider research domain than SR; for example, superluminal motion is predicted and has obtained growing experimental support.     

Superluminal Signal Velocity and Causality

A superluminal signal velocity (i.e. faster than light) is said to violate causality. However, superluminal signal velocities have been measured in tunneling experiments recently. The classical dipole interaction approach by Sommerfeld and Brillouin results in a complex refractive index with a finite real part. For the tunneling process with its purely imaginary refractive index this model obtaines a zero-time traversing of tunneling barriers in agreement with wave meechanics. The information of a signal is proportional to the product of its frequency band width and its time duration. The reasons that superluminal signal velocities do not violate causality are: (i) physical signals are frequency band limited and (ii) signals have a finite time duration.     

Sub- and Super-Luminal Phenomena in a Doubly Driven Four-Level System

With the occurrence of an adding driving field, the properties of the dispersion and the absorption of a four-level system are changed greatly. The system can produce the normal and anomalous dispersion regions with proper parameters. Here, the driving fields can be seemed as knobs to manipulate the groupvelocity of a weak probe field between subluminal and superluminal.     

Subluminal to superluminal light propagation in a V-type three-level atomic system interacting with squeezed vacuum

We study the light propagation properties in a V-type three-level atomic system interacting with two independent broadband squeezed baths. Using the graphic method, the dependences of the absorption and the dispersion of the system on the coupling field strength, the incoherent pumping field strength and the intensity of the squeezed vacuum are analysed. The result shows that the probe pulse propagation can be changed from subluminal to superluminal speed.     

Subluminal and Superluminal Phenomena in a Four-Level Atom

In a four-level atomic system, we investigate the light pulse propagation properties interacting with only one laser field. It is shown that in the steady state, the group velocity of the light pulse can be changed from subluminal to superluminal by varying the field detuning. Meanwhile, the effects of the field intensity on the group velocity are also shown. At last, with special parameters, the analytical solution for the group index is also obtained.     

Partially coherent beam and its applications

The recent progresses on the propagation, generation and application of partially coherent beam (PCB) are reviewed in this paper. A new tensor ABCD law for treating the propagation of partially coherent Gaussian-Schell model (GSM) beams through a paraxial optical system is derived. The focusing, spectral shift and fractional Fourier transform of the GSM beam are investigated by using the tensor method. The generation of PCB with special optical resonator is studied both theoretically and experimentally. Furthermore, the ghost imaging and superluminal propagation of the PCB is discussed. The results show clearly that the coherence of light have strong influences on the ghost imaging and superluminal propagation.      

Relativity and impossibility of superluminal motion

I prove that not only particle motion but also wave propagation cannot be faster than light according to relativity.