Non-instantaneous third-order optical response of gases in low-frequency fields.

It is commonly assumed that for low-intensity short optical pulses far from resonance, the third-order optical nonlinear response is instantaneous. We solve the three-dimensional time-dependent Schrödinger equation for the hydrogen atom and show that this is not the case: the polarization is not simply proportional to the cube of the electric field even at low intensities. We analyze the fundamental-frequency and third-harmonic nonlinear susceptibilities of hydrogen, investigate their dependence on intensity, and find that the delays in the Kerr response rapidly approach the femtosecond time-scale at higher intensities, while the delays in the third harmonic generation remain much lower. We also propose an experimental scheme to detect and characterize the above effects.