Squared-field amplitude modulus and radiation intensity nonequivalence within nonlinear slabs

This paper presents a novel approach to wave propagation inside the Fabry-Perot framework. It states that the time-averaged Poynting vector modulus could be nonequivalent with the squared-field amplitude modulus. This fact permits the introduction of a new kind of nonlinear medium whose nonlinearity is proportional to the time-averaged Poynting vector modulus. Its transmittance is calculated and found to differ with that obtained for the Kerr medium, whose nonlinearity is proportional to the squared-field amplitude modulus. The latter emphasizes the nonequivalence of these magnitudes. A space-time symmetry analysis shows that the Poynting nonlinearity should be only possible in noncentrosymmetric materials.