Models for optical solitons in the two-cycle regime

Hervé Leblond (1) , François Sanchez (1)

1 POMA - Propriétés Optiques des Matériaux et Applications

We derive model equations for optical pulse propagation in a medium described by a two-level Hamiltonian, without the use of the slowly varying envelope approximation. Assuming that the resonance frequency of the two-level atoms is either well above or well below the inverse of the characteristic duration of the pulse, we reduce the propagation problem to a modified Korteweg-de Vries or a sine-Gordon equation. We exhibit analytical solutions of these equations which are rather close in shape and spectrum to pulses in the two-cycle regime produced experimentally, which shows that soliton-type propagation of the latter can be envisaged.

Mots clés: Ultrashort pulses; modified KdV; sine-Gordon

Domaines: Formation de Structures et Solitons [nlin.PS]

Hervé Leblond, François Sanchez. Models for optical solitons in the two-cycle regime. Physical Review A : Atomic, molecular, and optical physics [1990-2015], 2003, 67, pp.013804. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevA.67.013804⟩. ⟨hal-00003212⟩