Few-cycle nonlinear optics of multicomponent media

Using Maxwell-Bloch equations, we analyze the response of a two-component medium of two-level atoms driven by a two-cycle optical pulse beyond the traditional approach of slowly varying amplitudes and phases. We show that the notions of carrier, envelope, phase, and group velocities can be generalized to this situation. For optical pulses of a given duration, we show that the optical field can form a temporal soliton.