Time evolution of few-cycle pulse in a dense V-type three-level medium

Propagation of a few-cycle laser pulse in a dense V-type three-level atomic medium is investigated by the numerical solution of the full Maxwell–Bloch equations without the rotating wave and slowly varying envelope approximations, and the numerical solution is obtained by using the predictor–corrector method and the finite-difference time-domain method. It is shown that, due to the strength of the electric field induced by the macroscopic polarization in a dense medium being stronger than that in a dilute medium and the influence of the near dipole–dipole (NDD) interaction, the time evolution of a few-cycle pulse in the dense medium is remarkably different from that in the corresponding dilute medium. In the dilute medium, oscillation arises at the trailing edge of the pulse; while in the dense medium, it appears at both the leading and trailing edges of the pulse; moreover, the oscillation at the leading edge is more obvious with the pulse area decreasing. The carrier-envelope phase has an obvious difference in the two cases with and without NDD interaction. The ratio, γ, of the transition dipole moments has strong influence on the time evolution and split of the pulse. In the dense medium, when?γ?= 1, NDD interaction delays propagation and split of the pulse; while when?γ?> 1, NDD interaction accelerates propagation and split of the pulse, moreover, the phenomenon is more obvious with the input pulse area decreasing. In the dilute medium, the larger area pulse doesn't split when?γ?= 1 while it splits when?γ?> 1.