2025/12/03 by R. Grünwald, Martin Böck, Grunwald, Ruediger +1
Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Nonlinear Photonic Systems #Optics (physics.optics) #Orbital Angular Momentum in Optics
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2512.03993
openalex publication_date 2025/12/03 · openalex created_date 2025/12/05 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Recent research on needle beams and space-time wavepackets (STWPs) is presented. Quasi-nondiffracting STWPs propagate at stable spatial and temporal localization over extended distances. In a simple model, STWPs are interpreted as being composed of differential needle beams. Simulations indicate that pulsed Bessel-like needle beams can reach higher spectral and temporal homogeneity compared to spatio-spectrally shaped focused Gaussian beams. The interference of femtosecond needle beam arrays leads to nondiffracting self-imaging in space and time. High-speed switching of STWPs with combined optical systems, orbital angular momentum generation with self-torque and other emerging fields of research are addressed