Derivation of a modified Korteweg-de Vries model for few-optical-cycles soliton propagation from a general Hamiltonian

Propagation of few-cycles optical pulses in a centrosymmetric nonlinear optical Kerr (cubic) type material described by a general Hamiltonian of multilevel atoms is considered. Assuming that all transition frequencies of the nonlinear medium are well above the typical wave frequency, we use a long-wave approximation to derive an approximate evolution model of modified Korteweg-de Vries type. The model derived by rigorous application of the reductive perturbation formalism allows one the adequate description of propagation of ultrashort (few-cycles long) solitons. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.