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.