Wan, Z., Yessenov, M. and Padgett, M. J. (2023) The propagation speed of optical speckle. Scientific Reports, 13, 9071. (doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35990-z)
![[img]](https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/text.png) |
Text
299624.pdf - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. 2MB |
Abstract
That the speed of light in vacuum is constant is a cornerstone of modern physics. However, recent experiments have shown that when the light field is confined in the transverse plane, the observed propagation speed of the light is reduced. This effect is a consequence of the transverse structure which reduces the component of wavevector of the light in the direction of propagation, thereby modifying both the phase and group velocity. Here, we consider the case of optical speckle, which has a random transverse distribution and is ubiquitous with scales ranging from the microscopic to the astronomical. We numerically investigate the plane-to-plane propagation speed of the optical speckle by using the method of angular spectrum analysis. For a general diffuser with Gaussian scattering over an angular range of 5°, we calculate the slowing of the propagation speed of the optical speckle to be on the order of 1% of the free-space speed, resulting in a significantly higher temporal delay compared to the Bessel and Laguerre–Gaussian beams considered previously. Our results have implications for studying optical speckle in both laboratory and astronomical settings.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Wan, Zhenyu and Padgett, Professor Miles |
| Authors: | Wan, Z., Yessenov, M., and Padgett, M. J. |
| College/School: | College of Science and Engineering > School of Physics and Astronomy |
| Journal Name: | Scientific Reports |
| Publisher: | Nature Research |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| ISSN (Online): | 2045-2322 |
| Copyright Holders: | Copyright © 2023 The Authors |
| First Published: | First published in Scientific Reports 13: 9071 |
| Publisher Policy: | Reproduced under a Creative Commons License |
| Data DOI: | 10.5525/gla.researchdata.1414 |
University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record
Funder and Project Information
Funder and Project Information