Models for optical solitons in the two-cycle regime

We derive model equations for optical pulse propagation in a medium described by a two-level Hamiltonian, without the use of the slowly varying envelope approximation. Assuming that the resonance frequency of the two-level atoms is either well above or well below the inverse of the characteristic duration of the pulse, we reduce the propagation problem to a modified Korteweg–de Vries or a sine-Gordon equation. We exhibit analytical solutions of these equations which are rather close in shape and spectrum to pulses in the two-cycle regime produced experimentally, which shows that soliton-type propagation of the latter can be envisaged.