Time-and-space-domain study of diffracting and non-diffracting light pulses

Abstract

We present an overview of our very recent results on the evolution of ultrashort pulses after propagating through various optical elements. Direct spatiotemporal measurements of the electric field were made using the technique SEA TADPOLE. Our SEA TADPOLE device can resolve spatial features as small as ~5 μm and temporal features as small as ~5 fs. The experimental results are verified by theoretical calculations. The superluminality of pulses with Bessel-function-like radialprofiles is discussed. Keywords: Bessel beam, boundary diffraction wave, Bessel-X pulse, superluminal propagation, Arago spot