Nonlinear response of diluted gases to an ultraviolet femtosecond pulse

Quantum-mechanical simulations of the nonlinear response of a one-dimensional quantum system with the energy structure close to that of the xenon atom to an ultraviolet femtosecond pulse with an intensity of 1–100 TW/cm$^2$ reveal the dispersion of the cubic nonlinearity coefficient in the range of 266–400 nm and its intensity dependence. This excludes the description of the response of bound electrons as $\chi^{(3)}E^3$ . The calculation of the polarization with this one-dimensional quantum model can be used to simulate the propagation of ultraviolet femtosecond radiation in a gas.