Generation of intense subcycle optical pulses in a gas

The generation of intense subcycle laser pulses during the propagation of two-color femtosecond pulses in a gas medium is investigated theoretically and experimentally. Four-wave mixing induced by the laser pulses in a gas medium generates multi-octave laser radiation from the ultraviolet to the infrared, which forms stable subcycle laser pulses after a certain propagation distance in a gas medium with group-velocity dispersion. The intense subcycle laser pulses would allow the coherent control of the waveforms of soft-x-rays generated via high-harmonic generation.