Breaking the temporal resolution limit by superoscillating optical beats

Abstract

Band-limited functions can oscillate locally at an arbitrarily fast rate through an interference phenomenon known as superoscillations. Using an optical pulse with a superoscillatory envelope we experimentally break the temporal Fourier-transform limit having a temporal feature which is approximately three times shorter than the duration of a transform-limited Gaussian pulse having a comparable bandwidth while maintaining $29.5\%$ visibility. Numerical simulations demonstrate the ability of such signals to achieve temporal super-resolution.

9 pages, 6 figures, supplementary sections included

Cited by in corpus (8)

• An approach to constructing super oscillatory functions
• Simple interferometric setup enabling sub-Fourier-scale ultra-short laser pulses
• Superoscillatory PT-symmetric potentials
• Effective super-bandwidth in laser pulses
• Super-sensing: 100-Fold enhancement in THz time-domain spectroscopy contrast via superoscillating waveform shaping
• Simultaneous Superoscillations in Space and Time in Nonseparable Light Pulses
• A proposal to characterize and quantify superoscillations
• Superoscillating Quantum Control Induced By Sequential Selections