We introduce the generalized Airy-Gauss (AiG) beams and analyze their propagation through optical systems described by ABCD matrices with complex elements in general. The transverse mathematical structure of the AiG beams is form-invariant under paraxial transformations. The conditions for square integrability of the beams are studied in detail. The model of the AiG beam describes in a more rea...

We evaluate the partition functions in the neighbourhood of catastrophes by saddle point integration and express them in terms of generalized Airy functions.

Sliding-frequency filter systems are known to admit two families of accelerating solitons: high-amplitude and low-amplitude families. Such equilibrium solutions are computed here, for a wide range of filter strengths, as self-similar solutions having Airy function asymptotics. In a limited parameter region, the profile possesses a secondary small hump. The high-amplitude solitons are found to b...

We present a numerical study of the giant Goos-Hänchen shifts (GHSs) obtained from an Airy beam impinging on a nonlinear interface. To avoid any angular restriction associated with the paraxial approximation, the analysis is based on the nonlinear Helmholtz equation. We report the existence of nonstandard nonlinear GHSs displaying an extreme sensitivity to the input intensity and the existence ...

We derive integral formulas, involving the Airy function, for moments of the time a two-sided Brownian motion with parabolic drift attains its maximum.