Propagation of a light pulse with a duration of less than one period in a resonant amplifying medium

The propagation of a unipolar light pulse with a duration of less than one period in a two-level resonant amplifying medium is studied theoretically. In the process of amplification, the unipolar pulse becomes bipolar. The effect of the relaxation time on the shape and duration of the amplified pulse is demonstrated. It is found that the electric pulse area (integral of electric field strength with respect to time) is conserved, in contrast to the area under the long pulse envelope (integral of slowly varying field amplitude with respect to time), which, in the case of long pulses, satisfies the McCall–Hahn area theorem.