Precise control of superluminal and slow light propagation by transverse phase modulation

We have used a heterodyne Z-scan technique to produce both superluminal and slow light propagation in media that present either thermal or Kerr nonlinearities. The sample position determines the magnitude and sign of the group velocity and this property was used to control it, with an experimental setup much simpler than those previously reported in similar investigations. The observed effect is attributed to the transverse phase modulation produced by a focused Gaussian beam, and is capable of producing both positive and negative group velocities in the range 1.5 m/s < |upsilon(g)| < c.