Group delay of electromagnetic pulses through multilayer dielectric mirrors combined with gravitational wave

Abstract

A number of unexpected phenomena historically broke through corresponding the traditional physics framework, thus motivating scientists to develop more advanced and accurate theories. A well-known example is quantum tunnelling in α-decay. The quantum tunnelling rate can be described accurately by the quantum theory but cannot be explained by classical mechanics. In quantum tunnelling, the length of time during which a particle tunnels through a barrier remains undetermined 1-6 . Based on classical quantum and classical electrodynamics theories, the group delay during quantum tunnelling is independent of barrier thickness. However, in more accurate theories, such as the general theory of relativity 7 , is this condition still valid? In this Letter, we investigate the group delay of optical pulses through multilayer dielectric mirrors (MDM) combined with gravitational wave (GW) 7-10 . We find that the delay increases linearly with MDM length for the transmitted wave packet, whereas the Hartman effect disappears.Our study provides insight into the nature of both quantum tunnelling and