Theory of electrooptic shock radiation in nonlinear optical media

A general theory is presented for electrooptic shock (Cerenkov) radiation in transparent crystals having a linear electrooptic effect. Significant amounts of shock radiation require subpicosecond pulses of suitably focused laser radiation to produce a moving pulse of polarization in the medium. The theory obtains expressions for the radiated electric field, power spectrum, and total energy. Both 2D and 3D geometries are discussed as well as the proper focusing conditions. Numerical examples are given based on the nonlinear material LiTaO
3
.