Influence of the time-dependent pulse spectrum on ionization and laser propagation in nonlinear optical materials

The interaction and the propagation of intense and short laser pulses in nonlinear optical materials are addressed. A consistent introduction of a time-dependent ionization model into the Maxwell's equations allows one to account for the influence of strong variations of the pulse spectrum on the ionization dynamics, which in turn affects the pulse propagation. The interaction between both ionization and propagation dynamics is demonstrated for two cases of practical interest: frequency conversion and propagation of chirped pulses.