A systemized view of superluminal wave propagation

Abstract

This paper reviews earlier studies on superluminal wave propagation in anomalously dispersive media that have been carried out in the electronic, microwave, and optical regimes. Those studies are relevant to observation of modulated Gaussian pulses transmitted through various media at speeds apparently faster than $c$ without distortion. This paper also presents the condition for superluminal propagation that is established based on the magnitudephase relation of a causal and minimum-phase filter. Since the condition is modeled on the basis of filter theory, it is applicable to all types of media. A terahertz experiment with a periodic bandgap structure is also included to illustrate superluminal propagation. © 2006 IEEE.