Apparent Superluminal Propagation of a Laser Pulse in a Gain Medium

Abstract

The distortion of a laser pulse propagating in a dispersive gain/absorptive medium is analyzed. The relationship between the distortion of the pulse and superluminal propagation is discussed. We present an analytical approach based on the laser envelope equation that is readily applicable to arbitrary input pulse shapes. This analysis is used to interpret recent experiments that claim to have observed distortionless superluminal laser pulse propagation.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 30, 2001
Accession Number
ADA387042

Entities

People

  • Bahman Hafizi
  • Joseph R. Peñano
  • Phillip A. Sprangle

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Amplitude
  • Carrier Frequencies
  • Differential Equations
  • Dispersions
  • Distortion
  • Electric Fields
  • Electromagnetic Pulses
  • Equations
  • Frequency
  • Group Velocity
  • Laser Mediums
  • Laser Pulses
  • Lasers
  • Leading Edges
  • Military Research
  • Pulse Amplitude
  • Refractive Index

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Plasma Physics / Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy