Tailoring spatiotemporal wavepackets via two-dimensional space-time duality

Wei Chen, An-Zhuo Yu, Zhou Zhou, Ling-Ling Ma (), Ze-Yu Wang, Jia-Chen Yang, Cheng-Wei Qiu () and Yan-Qing Lu ()
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Wei Chen: Nanjing University
An-Zhuo Yu: Nanjing University
Zhou Zhou: National University of Singapore
Ling-Ling Ma: Nanjing University
Ze-Yu Wang: Nanjing University
Jia-Chen Yang: Nanjing University
Cheng-Wei Qiu: National University of Singapore
Yan-Qing Lu: Nanjing University

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Spatiotemporal (ST) beams—ultrafast optical wavepackets with customized spatial and temporal characteristics—present a significant contrast to conventional spatial-structured light and hold the potential to revolutionize our understanding and manipulation of light. However, progress in ST beam research has been constrained by the absence of a universal framework for its analysis and generation. Here, we introduce the concept of ‘two-dimensional space-time duality’, establishing a foundational duality between spatial-structured light and ST beams. We show that breaking the exact balance between paraxial diffraction and narrow-band dispersion is crucial for guiding the dynamics of ST wavepackets. Leveraging this insight, we pioneer a versatile complex-amplitude modulation strategy, enabling the precise crafting of ST beams with an exceptional fidelity exceeding 97%. Furthermore, we uncover a new range of ST wavepackets by harnessing the exact one-to-one relationship between scalar spatial-structured light and ST beams. Our results expand the toolkit for ST beam research and hold promise for applications across a diverse spectrum of wave-based physical systems.

Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-57743-4

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