Anomalous refraction of optical space-time wave packets

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates that space-time correlations in optical wave packets lead to anomalous refraction phenomena, challenging traditional laws and enabling new control over light propagation.

Contribution

It introduces a new law of refraction for space-time wave packets and experimentally verifies these effects across various optical materials.

Findings

Group-velocity invariance with refractive index

Group-delay cancellation observed

Tunable group velocity by changing incidence angle

Abstract

Refraction at the interface between two materials is fundamental to the interaction of light with photonic devices and to the propagation of light through the atmosphere at large. Underpinning the traditional rules for the refraction of an optical field is the tacit presumption of the separability of its spatial and temporal degrees-of-freedom. We show here that endowing a pulsed beam with precise spatio-temporal spectral correlations unveils remarkable refractory phenomena, such as group-velocity invariance with respect to the refractive index, group-delay cancellation, anomalous group-velocity increase in higher-index materials, and tunable group velocity by varying the angle of incidence. A law of refraction for `space-time' wave packets encompassing these effects is verified experimentally in a variety of optical materials. Space-time refraction defies our expectations derived from Fermat's principle and offers new opportunities for molding the flow of light and other wave phenomena.