(3+1)-dimensional nonlinear propagation equation for ultrashort pulsed beam in left-handed material

In this paper a comprehensive framework for treating the nonlinear propagation of ultrashort pulse in metamaterial with dispersive dielectric susceptibility and magnetic permeability is presented. Under the slowly-evolving-wave approximation, a generalized (3+1)-dimensional wave equation first order in the propagation coordinate and suitable for both right-handed material (RHM) and left-handed material (LHM) is derived. By the commonly used Drude dispersive model for LHM, a (3+1)-dimensional nonlinear Schr?dinger equation describing ultrashort pulsed beam propagation in LHM is obtained, and its difference from that for conventional RHM is discussed. Particularly, the self-steeping effect of ultrashort pulse is found to be anomalous in LHM.