Transient multiwave mixing in a nonlinear medium

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Abstract
We present a detailed quantitative theory of transient multiwave mixing effects in a nonlinear medium produced by two incident coherent laser beams. Our theory accounts for all the relevant parameters such as laser pulse widths, medium response times, nonlinearities, interaction length, intensities, beam ratio, phase-modulation effects, losses, side diffractions, and explicitly shows how the dynamics and the multiwave mixing processes are interrelated with these parameters. The crucial role played by the diffracted beams and the time-dependent phase shifts among the beams and the interplay among the various intensity and index gratings are explicitly evaluated. In particular, the gain experienced by a weak incident probe beam via these mixing effects from the incident strong pump beam is investigated as a function of the aforementioned parameters.