Abstract

Progress in methods for forming ultrashort optical pulses has made it possible to produce pulses a few wavelength long (as short as a single wavelength) with power densities as high as 10¹⁷ W/cm².^[1] The applicability of the traditional method of slowly varying amplitudes and phases (SVAP) is becoming ineffective in describing wave processes at such small time scales and at such high intensities. We are reporting here the solutions of several equations for pulse propagation in passive and active nonlinear media in situations in which the method SVAP is inapplicable.

© 1992 IQEC