Observation of diffraction cancellation for nonparaxial beams in the scale-free-optics regime

We report the observation of diffraction cancellation for visible beams with widths from tens of wavelengths down to fractions of the optical wavelength. The phenomenon is observed at the transition from diffraction-to antidiffraction-dominated beam propagation, triggered by a thermal shock in a photorefractive nanodisordered lithium-enriched potassium-tantalate-niobate (KTN:Li) crystal. Here beams propagate without distortion, independently of intensity and size. Confirming the main prediction of the scale-free-optics model, we find a single unified light behavior that spans across the entire hierarchy of standard optical spatial scales, from wide plane-wave-like beams that obey geometrical optics down to ultranarrow beams with widths of the order of a single wavelength.