Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Log inSign up
Challenges
Datasets
Workspaces
Papers
Discussions
Leaderboard
Blog
Job Board
Q3AS

© 2026 Aqora Quantum S.A.S.

TermsPrivacyLegal Notice

Scientific Reports

Development of superluminal pulse propagation in a serial array of high-Q ring resonators

Yuma Morita, Makoto Tomita

Published Oct 3, 2019• 5 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We experimentally examined the development of superluminal pulse propagation through a serial array of high-Q ring resonators that provides a dynamic recurrent loop. As the propagation distance, i.e., the number of ring resonators that the pulses passed through increased, the pulse advancement increased linearly, largely maintaining its Gaussian shape. The sharp edge encoded at the front of the pulse was, however, neither advanced nor delayed, in good accordance with the idea that information propagates at the speed of light. We also carried out a numerical simulation on the superluminal to subluminal transition of the pulse velocity, which appeared after the pulse had propagated a long distance. The time delays, which we calculated using the saddle point method and based on the net delay, were in good agreement with our results, even when predictions based on the traditional group delay failed completely. This demonstrates the superluminal to subluminal transition of the propagation velocity.

DOI
10.1038/s41598-019-50482-9

Related papers

Development of the pulse peak from peak-truncated Gaussian optical pulses in a serial array of high- Q ring resonators

Makoto Tomita, Taichi Sudo, Kota Yoshimura +1 more

We experimentally examined the propagation of a Gaussian-shaped temporal pulse through a serial array of ring resonators, truncating the pulse before its peak. We observed the process whereby a smooth pulse peak related to the Gaussian pulse emerged even when the incident pulse was truncated before its peak, as the pulse passed through an increasing number of ring resonators. The peak emerged when the negative group delay accumulated beyond the pulse truncation time point. This result demonstrated that the earlier portion of the input pulse envelope developed into a smooth Gaussian-shaped pulse peak in the superluminal pulse in good agreement with the analyses based on the instantaneous spectrum. We also discussed the propagation of truncated pulses in a slow light system, where the peak disappeared in the output pulse despite the peak in the input pulse.

Physical Review A•Oct 9, 2020•6 citations

Superluminal to Subluminal Transition in the Pulse Propagation in a Resonantly Absorbing Medium

Md. Aminul Islam Talukder, Yoshimitsu Amagishi, Makoto Tomita

We have examined the propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in an absorbing dye solution through a short to a long range of propagation distance. The transmitted pulses show strong spectral shift and a superluminal to subluminal transition in the propagation velocity keeping its initial shape almost intact. It is verified that the peak velocity is well described by a modified group velocity v(S) defined within the framework of the saddle-point method as well as by a recent prediction of the net group delay of surviving frequency.

Physical Review Letters•Apr 16, 2001•91 citations

Time-frequency dynamics of superluminal pulse transition to the subluminal regime

Ahmed H. Dorrah, Abhinav Ramakrishnan, Mo Mojahedi

Spectral reshaping and nonuniform phase delay associated with an electromagnetic pulse propagating in a temporally dispersive medium may lead to interesting observations in which the group velocity becomes superluminal or even negative. In such cases, the finite bandwidth of the superluminal region implies the inevitable existence of a cutoff distance beyond which a superluminal pulse becomes subluminal. In this paper, we derive a closed-form analytic expression to estimate this cutoff distance in abnormal dispersive media with gain. Moreover, the method of steepest descent is used to track the time-frequency dynamics associated with the evolution of the center of mass of a superluminal pulse to the subluminal regime. This evolution takes place at longer propagation depths as a result of the subluminal components affecting the behavior of the pulse. Finally, the analysis presents the fundamental limitations of superluminal propagation in light of factors such as the medium depth, pulse width, and the medium dispersion strength.

Physical Review E•Mar 24, 2015•7 citations

Sub and superluminal propagation through stratified media

V. S. C. Manga Rao, S. Dutta Gupta

Pulse propagation through 1-dimensional stratified media is studied. The general features of pulse propagation in relation to the delay or advancement of the pulse are discussed. It is shown that in a lossless system with spatial symmetry the reflected and the transmitted pulses have the same delay or advancement. The phase times and the explicit output pulse profiles for an input Gaussian pulse are calculated. While recalling recent results for a variety of systems (resonant absorbers or heterogeneous medium in a Fabry-Perot cavity, a slab of negative index medium, a left-handed/right-handed periodic structure, etc.), new results involving coupled waveguides and a high finesse cavity containing an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) medium are presented. Calculations clearly show that for pulses with a carrier tuned at the resonance of the stratified media, one generally has subluminal propagation. Alternatively, in stop gaps or away from the resonances one ends up with superluminal transit. In the case of the EIT cavity it is shown that the large dispersion offered by the intracavity medium can lead to substantial superluminality (ng≃−106) with peak transmission as high as 20%. This is in sharp contrast to large signal attenuation for usual superluminal transit. Note also that EIT, to the best of the authors knowledge, has so far been used to achieve only slow light.

IEE Proceedings - Circuits Devices and Systems•Jan 1, 2005•2 citations

Causal information velocity in fast and slow pulse propagation in an optical ring resonator

Makoto Tomita, 弘之 上杉, Parvin Sultana +1 more

We examined the propagation of nonanalytical points encoded on temporally Gaussian-shaped optical pulses in fast and slow light in an optical ring resonator at $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ = 1.5 \ensuremath{\mu}m. The temporal peak of the Gaussian pulse was either advanced or delayed, reflecting anomalous or normal dispersions in the ring resonator, relevant to under- or overcoupling conditions, respectively. The nonanalytical points were neither advanced nor delayed but appeared as they entered the ring resonator. The nonanalytical points could be interpreted as information; therefore, the experimental results suggested that information velocity is equal to the light velocity in vacuum or the background medium, independent of the group velocity. The transient behaviors at the leading and trailing edges of the nonanalytical points are discussed in terms of optical precursors.

Physical Review A•Oct 24, 2011•26 citations

Luminal pulse velocity in a superluminal medium

Heisuke Amano, Makoto Tomita

To investigate the physical meaning of pulse peak in fast and slow light media, we investigated propagation of differently shaped pulses experimentally, controlling the sharpness of the pulse peak. Symmetric behavior with respect to fast and slow light was observed in traditional Gaussian pulses; that is, propagated pulses were advanced or delayed, respectively, whereas the pulse shape remained unchanged. This symmetry broke down when the pulse peak was sharpened; in the fast light medium, the sharp pulse peak propagated with luminal velocity, and the transmitted pulse deformed into a characteristic asymmetric profile. In contrast, in the slow light medium, a time-delayed smooth peak appeared with a bending point at $t=0$. This symmetry breaking with respect to fast and slow light is a universal characteristic of pulse propagation in causal dispersive systems. The sharp pulse peak can be recognized as a bending nonanalytical point and may be capable of transferring information.

Physical Review A•Dec 23, 2015•2 citations
We experimentally examined the development of superluminal pulse propagation through a serial array of high-Q ring resonators that provides a dynamic recurrent loop. As the propagation distance, i.e., the number of ring resonators that the pulses passed through increased, the pulse advancement increased linearly, largely maintaining its Gaussian shape. The sharp edge encoded at the front of the pulse was, however, neither advanced nor delayed, in good accordance with the idea that information propagates at the speed of light. We also carried out a numerical simulation on the superluminal to subluminal transition of the pulse velocity, which appeared after the pulse had propagated a long distance. The time delays, which we calculated using the saddle point method and based on the net delay, were in good agreement with our results, even when predictions based on the traditional group delay failed completely. This demonstrates the superluminal to subluminal transition of the propagation velocity.
We experimentally examined the propagation of a Gaussian-shaped temporal pulse through a serial array of ring resonators, truncating the pulse before its peak. We observed the process whereby a smooth pulse peak related to the Gaussian pulse emerged even when the incident pulse was truncated before its peak, as the pulse passed through an increasing number of ring resonators. The peak emerged when the negative group delay accumulated beyond the pulse truncation time point. This result demonstrated that the earlier portion of the input pulse envelope developed into a smooth Gaussian-shaped pulse peak in the superluminal pulse in good agreement with the analyses based on the instantaneous spectrum. We also discussed the propagation of truncated pulses in a slow light system, where the peak disappeared in the output pulse despite the peak in the input pulse.
We have examined the propagation of femtosecond laser pulses in an absorbing dye solution through a short to a long range of propagation distance. The transmitted pulses show strong spectral shift and a superluminal to subluminal transition in the propagation velocity keeping its initial shape almost intact. It is verified that the peak velocity is well described by a modified group velocity v(S) defined within the framework of the saddle-point method as well as by a recent prediction of the net group delay of surviving frequency.
Spectral reshaping and nonuniform phase delay associated with an electromagnetic pulse propagating in a temporally dispersive medium may lead to interesting observations in which the group velocity becomes superluminal or even negative. In such cases, the finite bandwidth of the superluminal region implies the inevitable existence of a cutoff distance beyond which a superluminal pulse becomes subluminal. In this paper, we derive a closed-form analytic expression to estimate this cutoff distance in abnormal dispersive media with gain. Moreover, the method of steepest descent is used to track the time-frequency dynamics associated with the evolution of the center of mass of a superluminal pulse to the subluminal regime. This evolution takes place at longer propagation depths as a result of the subluminal components affecting the behavior of the pulse. Finally, the analysis presents the fundamental limitations of superluminal propagation in light of factors such as the medium depth, pulse width, and the medium dispersion strength.
Pulse propagation through 1-dimensional stratified media is studied. The general features of pulse propagation in relation to the delay or advancement of the pulse are discussed. It is shown that in a lossless system with spatial symmetry the reflected and the transmitted pulses have the same delay or advancement. The phase times and the explicit output pulse profiles for an input Gaussian pulse are calculated. While recalling recent results for a variety of systems (resonant absorbers or heterogeneous medium in a Fabry-Perot cavity, a slab of negative index medium, a left-handed/right-handed periodic structure, etc.), new results involving coupled waveguides and a high finesse cavity containing an electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT) medium are presented. Calculations clearly show that for pulses with a carrier tuned at the resonance of the stratified media, one generally has subluminal propagation. Alternatively, in stop gaps or away from the resonances one ends up with superluminal transit. In the case of the EIT cavity it is shown that the large dispersion offered by the intracavity medium can lead to substantial superluminality (ng≃−106) with peak transmission as high as 20%. This is in sharp contrast to large signal attenuation for usual superluminal transit. Note also that EIT, to the best of the authors knowledge, has so far been used to achieve only slow light.
We examined the propagation of nonanalytical points encoded on temporally Gaussian-shaped optical pulses in fast and slow light in an optical ring resonator at $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ = 1.5 \ensuremath{\mu}m. The temporal peak of the Gaussian pulse was either advanced or delayed, reflecting anomalous or normal dispersions in the ring resonator, relevant to under- or overcoupling conditions, respectively. The nonanalytical points were neither advanced nor delayed but appeared as they entered the ring resonator. The nonanalytical points could be interpreted as information; therefore, the experimental results suggested that information velocity is equal to the light velocity in vacuum or the background medium, independent of the group velocity. The transient behaviors at the leading and trailing edges of the nonanalytical points are discussed in terms of optical precursors.
To investigate the physical meaning of pulse peak in fast and slow light media, we investigated propagation of differently shaped pulses experimentally, controlling the sharpness of the pulse peak. Symmetric behavior with respect to fast and slow light was observed in traditional Gaussian pulses; that is, propagated pulses were advanced or delayed, respectively, whereas the pulse shape remained unchanged. This symmetry broke down when the pulse peak was sharpened; in the fast light medium, the sharp pulse peak propagated with luminal velocity, and the transmitted pulse deformed into a characteristic asymmetric profile. In contrast, in the slow light medium, a time-delayed smooth peak appeared with a bending point at t=0t=0t=0. This symmetry breaking with respect to fast and slow light is a universal characteristic of pulse propagation in causal dispersive systems. The sharp pulse peak can be recognized as a bending nonanalytical point and may be capable of transferring information.