Breakdown of the area theorem: Carrier-wave Rabi flopping of femtosecond optical pulses

Abstract

A first principles approach which utilizes the optical Maxwell-Bloch system coupled to a Maxwell's curl equations with a polarization two-level atom-model is applied to describe carrier-wave Rabi flopping (CWRF). Rabi flopping is the resonant excitation field which drives the excitation from the ground state to the excited state and back. Strong carrier-wave reshaping is found in addition to a significant interaction with the free-induction decay of the material.