Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Investigation of Early Plasma Evolution Induced by Ultrashort Laser Pulses
Published on: July 2, 2012
Time delay associated with total reflection of a plane wave upon plasma mirror
Abstract:
By employing both the ray model and the electromagnetic theory in a slab optical waveguide, we show that the Goos-Hänchen time, which has been recently argued in the literature, really exists and the time associated with total reflection of a plane wave upon nonabsorbing plasma mirror is exactly the sum of the group delay time and the Goos-Hänchen time. Based on this concept, it is also indicated that the causality is preserved not only for the frustrated Gires-Tournois interferometer case but also for the case of total reflection of a plane TM wave on a nonabsorbing plasma mirror.
Related Concept Videos
Echo
Imagine the sound is reflected back to the ears. Assuming that the source is very close to the human, the difference between hearing the two sounds—the emitted sound and the reflected sound—may be more than the minimum time for perceiving distinct sounds. If this is the case, then the...
Plane Electromagnetic Waves II
Interference and Diffraction
Plane Electromagnetic Waves I
The EM field is assumed to be a...
Reflection of Waves
Standing Waves in a Cavity

