Energy flow in angularly dispersive optical systems

Light-pulse propagation in angularly dispersive systems is explored in the context of a center-of-mass definition of energy arrival time. In this cont ext the time of travel is given by a superposition of group delays weighted by the spectral content of the pulse. with this description the time of tr avel from one point to the next for a pulse is found to be completely deter mined by the spectral content, independent of the state of chirp. The effec t of sensor orientation on arrival time is also considered. (C) 2001 Optica l Society of America.