Superluminal propagation and information transfer: A statistical approach in the microwave domain

•Information is described probabilistically by the temporal error probability Pe(t)Pe(t).•Pe(t)Pe(t) is calculated in superluminal medium versus a positive group delay medium.•Pe(t)Pe(t) is studied in three different detectors with three different noise profiles.•Signal latency is reduced in superluminal media limited by the detector noise.•Signal latency cannot be reduced in certain detection schemes despite its noise.

Signal velocity is calculated in a medium with negative group delay (NGD). By accounting for the medium and the detector noise sources, the time varying probability of error at the detector [Pe(t)Pe(t)] is evaluated in the NGD channel and a normal dispersion channel. The scheme in which Pe(t)Pe(t) falls below a threshold at earlier time, implies faster information transfer. It is found that the signal velocity depends on the detector type and the relative noise strength of the detector with respect to the channel. Finally, it is shown that NGD channels can be useful in applications that are limited by the detector noise.