  We consider a two-level atomic system, interacting with an electromagnetic
field controlled in amplitude and frequency by a high intensity laser. We show
that the amplitude of the induced electric field, admits an envelope profile
corresponding to a breather soliton. We demonstrate that this soliton can
propagate with any frequency shift with respect to that of the control laser,
except a critical frequency, at which the system undergoes a structural
discontinuity that transforms the breather in a rogue wave. A mechanism of
generation of rogue waves by means of an intense laser field is thus revealed.
