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arXiv:quant-ph/0407155 · Physical Review Letters

Direct Measurement of Superluminal Group Velocity and Signal Velocity in an Optical Fiber

Nicolas Brunner, Valerio Scarani, Mark Wegmüller, Matthieu Legré, Nicolas Gisin

Published Nov 11, 2004• 210 citations
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Abstract

We present an easy way of observing superluminal group velocities using a birefringent optical fiber and other standard devices. In the theoretical analysis, we show that the optical properties of the setup can be described using the notion of "weak value." The experiment shows that the group velocity can indeed exceed c in the fiber; and we report the first direct observation of the so-called "signal velocity," the speed at which information propagates and that cannot exceed c.

DOI
10.1103/physrevlett.93.203902

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We present an easy way of observing superluminal group velocities using a birefringent optical fiber and other standard devices. In the theoretical analysis, we show that the optical properties of the setup can be described using the notion of "weak value." The experiment shows that the group velocity can indeed exceed c in the fiber; and we report the first direct observation of the so-called "signal velocity," the speed at which information propagates and that cannot exceed c.
We report superluminal propagation in optical fibers using Brillouin lasing oscillation in a ring cavity. Negative group velocity propagation through a 10-m single mode fiber has been experimentally demonstrated. An advancement of 221.2 ns was observed before the input signal, which was achieved with a very high slope efficiency of 211.3 ns/dB. This indicates that this way is suitable for long-distance low-loss superluminal propagation via optical fibers. Correspondingly, the group velocity is -0.151c and the group index is -6.636-the highest group velocity ever reported for optical fibers.
Summary form only given. It is well known that the group velocity v/sub g/ of a light pulse can exceed c in an anomalously dispersive medium. As discussed many years ago by Sommerfeld and Brillouin, a group velocity greater than c does not violate causality because it is not the velocity of information transmission. They noted that the "frontal velocity," the velocity at which an infinitely sharp step-function-like disturbance of the light intensity propagates, can serve as a velocity of information transfer. We suggest here an operational definition of the signal velocity and apply it to the recently observed superluminal propagation of a light pulse in a gain medium.
We demonstrated the superluminal propagation at negative group velocity using stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) in optical fibers. In the scheme, the Stokes wave is circulated back into the ring cavity for Brillouin lasing to enhance the peak loss. The experiment demonstrated the superluminal light propagation can be realized by increasing the input signal power. The largest time advancement of 221.2ns has been observed. Correspondingly, the negative group velocity is -0.15c and the group index is -6.636.
We examine the effect of superluminal signal propagation through a birefringent crystal, where the effect is not due to absorption or reflection, but to the filtration of a special polarization component. We first examine the effect by a stationary phase analysis, with results consistent with those of an earlier analysis of the system. We supplement this analysis by considering the transit of a Gaussian wave and find bounds for the validity of the stationary phase result. The propagation of the Gaussian wave is illustrated by figures.