Incoherent self-accelerating beams

• DOI: 10.1364/optica.2.000886
• Publication Date: 2015-10-08T16:43:22Z
• Authors: Yaakov Lumer; Yi Liang; Ran Schley; Ido Kaminer; Elad Greenfield; Daohong Song; Xinzheng Zhang; Jingjun Xu; Zhigang Chen; Mordechai Segev
• Keywords: Degree of coherence

Self-accelerating optical beams form as a direct outcome of interference, initiated by predesigned initial condition. In similar fashion, quantum mechanical particles exhibit force-free acceleration result interference effects following proper preparation the Schrodinger wave function. Indeed, is at heart such packets, and hence it implied that self-accelerating packets must be coherent entities. Counter to that, we demonstrate theoretically experimentally spatially incoherent beams, in both paraxial nonparaxial domains. We show principle, transverse correlation distance can short single wavelength, while properly designed beam will give rise shape-preserving for same accelerating propagating on trajectory. These findings expand understanding relation between coherence may have implications design with limited coherence.