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Phys. Rev. A 75, 042105 (2007) [4 pages]

Theoretical evidence for the superluminality of evanescent modes

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Zhi-Yong Wang and Cai-Dong Xiong
School of Physical Electronics, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 610054, China

Received 22 January 2007; revised 6 March 2007; published 11 April 2007

Though both theoretical and experimental investigations have revealed the superluminal behavior of evanescent electromagnetic waves, there are many disputes about the physical meaning and validity of such superluminal phenomenon, which is due to the fact that the traditional investigations are based on the theory of tunneling time and concerned with the problem of what the group velocity of evanescent waves means. In this paper, by studying the quantum probability amplitude for photons to propagate over a spacelike interval along an undersized waveguide, we present theoretical evidence for such superluminality.

© 2007 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevA.75.042105
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevA.75.042105
PACS:
03.65.Xp, 41.20.Jb, 42.50.Nn, 03.65.Pm