Transversely modulated wave packet

Abstract

The wave packet consisting of two harmonic plane waves with the same frequencies, but with different wave vectors is considered. The dispersion relation of a packet is structurally similar to the dispersion relation of a relativistic particle with a nonzero rest mass. The possibilities of controlling the group velocity of a quasi-monochromatic wave packet by varying the angle between the wave vectors of its constituent waves and of creating a one-dimensional spatial structure in the region of wave packet propagation are discussed. The interaction of two transversely modulated wave packets is considered.