Diffraction as a reason for slowing down light pulses in vacuum

The mean velocity of a finite-size short light pulse in a far zone is defined as the vectorial sum of velocities of all rays forming the pulse. Because of diffraction, the mean pulse velocity defined in this way is always somewhat smaller than the speed of light. The conditions are found when this slowing-down effect is sufficiently pronounced to be experimentally measurable. Under these conditions the original Gaussian shape of a pulse is found to be strongly modified with significant lengthening of the rear wing of the field envelope. Schemes for measuring these effects are suggested and discussed.