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arXiv · 2609.26969

Structural Resilience of Space-Time Wave Packets to Volumetric Scattering

Abstract

Optical space-time wave packets (STWPs) can be engineered to sustain tight transverse confinement over long distances. However, whether the requisite precise spatiotemporal correlations underlying this behavior survive volumetric scattering remains unclear. Here, we experimentally demonstrate that STWP light sheets with transverse thicknesses of 11 and 22 microns largely retain their prescribed spatiotemporal structure after transmission through 10 mm thick scattering phantoms (scattering coefficient = 0.84 per mm). Moreover, compared with size-matched Gaussian beams, STWPs exhibit greater preservation of their initial spectral intensity distribution across the prescribed space-time domain following scattering. Additionally, the transmitted STWPs remain tightly confined and preserve on-axis intensity decay rates similar to those of their unscattered counterparts. As the scattering conditions span biologically relevant regimes, the structural and propagation resilience of STWPs to scattering highlights their potential for extended-depth 3D biomedical microscopy.

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Kefu Mu, Hsiao-Chih Huang, Chen-Ting Liao, Hui Min Leung. 2026-09-22. Structural Resilience of Space-Time Wave Packets to Volumetric Scattering. https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.26969

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