Janus Waves

Abstract

We show the existence of a family of waves that share a common interesting property affecting the way they propagate and focus. These waves are a superposition of twin waves, which are conjugate to each other under inversion of the propagation direction. In analogy to holography, these twin "real" and "virtual" waves are related respectively to the converging and the diverging part of the beam and can be clearly visualized in real space at two distinct foci under the action of a focusing lens. Analytic formulas for the intensity distribution after focusing are derived, while numerical and experimental demonstrations are given for some of the most interesting members of this family, the accelerating Airy and ring-Airy beams