  Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are traditionally excited by plane waves
within the Rayleigh range of a focused transverse magnetic (TM) Gaussian beam.
Here, we investigate and confirm the coupling between SPPs and two-dimensional
Gaussian and Bessel-Gauss wave packets, as well as one-dimensional light sheets
and space-time wave packets. We encode the incoming wavefronts with spatially
varying states of polarization then couple the respective TM components of
radial and azimuthal vector beam profiles to confirm SPP
polarization-correlation and spatial-mode selectivity. Our results do not
require material optimization or multi-dimensional confinement via periodically
corrugated metal surfaces to achieve coupling at greater extents. Hereby,
outlining a pivotal, yet commonly overlooked, path towards the development of
long-range biosensors and all-optical integrated plasmonic circuits.
