The chronocyclic representation of ultrashort light pulses

Abstract

The quantum concept of a Wigner distribution function is borrowed in order to define a representation of an ultrashort light pulse in terms of a real function in the time-frequency phase space. This conceptual framework is used to describe the action of several linear devices and the nonlinear propagation of ultrashort pulses. An experimental determination of chronocyclic representations based on spectrally resolved cross correlations is proposed. This is generalized to an analysis of phase and amplitude measurements of ultrashort pulses.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>