Nonlinear Response of Diluted Gases to an Ultraviolet Femtosecond Pulse

Quantum-mechanical simulations of the nonlinear response of a one-dimensional quantum system with the energy structure close to that of the xenon atom to an ultraviolet femtosecond pulse with an intensity of 1–100 TW/cm 2 reveal the dispersion of the cubic nonlinearity coefficient in the range of 266–400 nm and its intensity dependence. This excludes the description of the response of bound electrons as χ^(3)E^3 . The calculation of the polarization with this one-dimensional quantum model can be used to simulate the propagation of ultraviolet femtosecond radiation in a gas.