Time diffraction of evanescent waves.
The concept of time diffraction of evanescent electromagnetic waves is proposed. Transient propagation of electromagnetic waves is studied in two forms: propagating and evanescent waves. Differences and similarities between quantum particle tunneling and photon tunneling are clearly demonstrated. Traversal time cannot be accurately defined due to diffraction in time. Nevertheless, a delay time is defined as the difference between the time of flight and the peak time of the transient light. The delay time is found to increase linearly and slowly with the traversal distance. Superluminal tunneling is found possible only for evanescent waves, and Einstein causality is not violated.
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Centro de Ciencias de la Materia Condensada, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de México, Apartado Postal 2681, Codigo Postal 22800 Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. mufei@ccmc.unam.mx