Theory and Simulation of Ultrafast Intense Pulse Propagation in Extended Media

The theory of femtosecond pulse propagation in dispersive nonlinear media is reviewed with emphasis on modeling light–matter interactions in femtosecond optical filaments. Discussion of the principles underlying the pulse propagation models is followed by the description of the “standard” light–medium interaction model utilized in the ultrafast nonlinear optics, and open problems are identified across the field.