Carrier wave shocking of femtosecond optical pulses

Numerical integration of Maxwell's equations for propagation of a femtosecond pulse in a medium with linear Lorentz response and a Kerr nonlinearity shows shock formation on the underlying carrier wave prior to the envelope shock. The carrier shock is characterized by the appearance of a strong third harmonic pulse, whereas the envelope shock appears later as spectral broadening and modulation of the fundamental and higher harmonic spectral features.