Abruptly autofocusing waves enter space-time

Abstract

Whereas conventional Gaussian focusing gradually concentrates optical energy around the focal plane, abruptly autofocusing waves maintain a low peak intensity over most of their evolution before undergoing a sudden, high-contrast intensity surge at a prescribed focus. Since their introduction in 2010, their two-dimensional spatial realizations have enabled applications ranging from particle manipulation and material processing to terahertz generation and nonlinear optics. The recent work of Cao et al. marks the transition from (2+1)-dimensional spatial autofocusing to the full space-time domain through the experimental synthesis of spherical Airy wavepackets. This advance opens new opportunities for ultrafast structured light, tightly localized energy delivery, and nonlinear photonics.