Diffraction-free and dispersion-free pulsed beam propagation in dispersive media

The diffraction of pulsed beams of light is formulated as an anomalously dispersive phenomenon. In a dispersive material, the effects of material group-velocity dispersion and diffraction on pulsed beam propagation can mutually cancel if the transverse profile of the pulse is suitably chosen. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.