Gaussian beams diffracting in time

TL;DR

This paper introduces a method to convert monochromatic paraxial light beams into pulsed beams with diffraction properties shifted from spatial to temporal domains, exemplified with Gaussian beams, and discusses physical constraints.

Contribution

It presents a novel transformation technique for monochromatic beams into time-diffracting pulsed beams, expanding control over diffraction in optical wave propagation.

Findings

Time-diffracting Gaussian beams demonstrated

Conditions for physically meaningful diffraction-free waves established

Transformation method applicable to various monochromatic beams

Abstract

We show how to transform the mathematical expression of any monochromatic paraxial light beam into the expression of a pulsed beam whose diffraction is switched from the axial direction to its temporal structure. We exemplify this transformation with time-diffracting Gaussian beams. The conditions for the obtained diffraction-free wave to be physically meaningful are discussed.