Ring-Airy beams at the wavelength limit.

We demonstrate that paraxial ring-Airy beams can approach the wavelength limit, while observing a counterintuitive, strong enhancement of their focal peak intensity. Using numerical simulations, we show that this behavior is a result of the coherent constructive action of paraxial and nonparaxial energy flow. A simple theoretical model enables us to predict the parameter range over which this is possible.

Linear and nonlinear waves in surface and wedge index potentials.

We study optical beams that are supported at the surface of a medium with a linear index potential and by a piecewise linear wedge-type potential. In the linear limit the modes are described by Airy functions. In the nonlinear regime we find families of solutions that bifurcate from the linear modes and study their stability for both self-focusing and self-defocusing Kerr nonlinearity. The total power of such nonlinear waves is finite without the need for apodization.

Observation of abruptly autofocusing waves.

We report on the experimental observation of abruptly autofocusing waves. This interesting family of wave packets has been realized by using a radially symmetric Airy intensity distribution. As demonstrated in our experiments, these waves can exhibit unusual features, such as the ability to autofocus by following a parabolic trajectory toward their focus.

Spatiotemporal airy light bullets in the linear and nonlinear regimes.

We demonstrate the realization of intense Airy-Airy-Airy (Airy(3)) light bullets by combining a spatial Airy beam with an Airy pulse in time. The Airy(3) light bullets belong to a family of linear spatiotemporal wave packets that do not require any specific tuning of the material optical properties for their formation and withstand both diffraction and dispersion during their propagation. We show that the Airy(3) light bullets are robust up to the high intensity regime, since they are capable of healing the nonlinearly induced distortions of their spatiotemporal profile.