Abstract

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

© 1992 Optical Society of America