SPECTRUM OF A FEW-CYCLE LASER PULSE PROPAGATING IN A TWO-LEVEL ATOM MEDIUM

The spectrum evolution of a few-cycle optical pulse in a resonant two-level atom medium is studied theoretically by using the full Maxwell--Bloch equations. On the propagating pulse, significantly much faster oscillation components separated with the main pulse appear due to strong self-phase modulation and pulse reshaping. In this case, ideal self-induced transparency cannot occur for a 2\pi pulse. The spectrum of the 4\pi pulse shows an evident oscillatory feature because of the continuum interference of the separate pulses. For larger pulse areas, continuum generation from near ultraviolet to infrared occurs.