Propagation dynamics of maximal coherence and nonlinear mixing in an ionizing three-level medium

We show through modeling the effect of pulse propagation upon the evolution of coherence and nonlinear frequency mixing in an ionizing three-level medium. This work extends earlier studies, in which the coherence dephasing due to photoelectrons was considered, by including the effects of pulse reshaping as the coupled fields propagate through the medium. In this way we establish a realistic model that enables us to predict qualitatively the performance of experimental coherence enhanced frequency mixing schemes.