Diffraction-free and dispersion-free pulsed beam propagation in dispersive media

Abstract

Pulsed Bessel beams of light propagating in free-space experience diffraction effects that resemble those of anomalous dispersion on pulse propagation. It is then shown that a pulsed Bessel beam in a normally dispersive material can remain diffraction- and dispersion-free due to mutual cancellation of diffraction and group velocity dispersion. The size of the Bessel transversal profile for localized transmission is determined by the dispersive properties of the material at the pulse carrier frequency.