Self-guiding of long-wave infrared laser pulses mediated by avalanche ionization
Optics
2020-09-30 v1 Plasma Physics
Abstract
Nonlinear self-guided propagation of intense long-wave infrared (LWIR) laser pulses is of significant recent interest owing to the high critical power for self-focusing collapse at long wavelengths. This promises transmission of very high power in a single filament as opposed to beam breakup and multi-filamentation. Here, using the most current picture of LWIR ionization processes in air, we present extensive simulations showing that isolated avalanche sites centered on aerosols can arrest self-focusing, providing a route to self-guided propagation of moderate intensity LWIR pulses in outdoor environments.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.2003.11405,
title = {Self-guiding of long-wave infrared laser pulses mediated by avalanche ionization},
author = {D. Woodbury and A. Goffin and R. M. Schwartz and J. Isaacs and H. M. Milchberg},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2003.11405},
year = {2020}
}