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Phys. Rev. Lett. 81, 2190–2193 (1998)

Quantum Limitations on Superluminal Propagation

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Yakir Aharonov1a,1b, Benni Reznik2, and Ady Stern3
1aSchool of Physics and Astronomy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
1band Department of Physics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29208
2Theoretical Division, T-6, MS B288, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545
3Department of Condensed Matter Physics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel

Received 7 April 1998; published in the issue dated 14 September 1998

Unstable systems such as media with inverted atomic population have been shown to allow the propagation of analytic wave packets with group velocity faster than that of light, without violating causality. We illuminate the important role played by unstable modes in this propagation and show that the quantum fluctuations of these modes and their unitary time evolution impose severe restrictions on the observation of superluminal phenomena.

© 1998 The American Physical Society

URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.2190
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.81.2190
PACS:
03.65.Sq, 42.50.-p, 42.50.Lc
 
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