Method for analyzing the propagation dynamics of femtosecond pulses with acontinuum spectrum in transparent optical media

Techniques for constructing nonlinear evolution equations for the electric field of femtosecond light pulses in bulk and waveguide optical media with nonlinearities of various nature are formulated. A system of equations, whi ch takes into account the material and waveguide dispersions of the medium that are linear with respect to the field in the transparency range, as wel l as nonlinearities of electronic and vibronic nature, is obtained. The cha racteristic features of the generation of a spectral supercontinuum with pu mping by pulses with durations of 150 and 10 fs are analyzed in the example s of numerical solutions of the system derived for a hollow waveguide fille d with gaseous deuterium and a quartz fiber-optic light guide. (C) 2000 The Optical Society of Americn. [S1070-9762(00)00204-9].