Filamentation in low pressure conditions
Abstract
Filamentation is favorable for many long-range outdoor laser applications, some of which require propagation to or at high altitudes. Understanding how the filamentation process and filament properties are impacted by the low pressure conditions present at high altitudes is essential in designing effective applications. The scaling of filament preconditions with pressure is considered. An increase in critical power and decrease in transition numerical aperture (NA) is predicted to occur with a drop in pressure, indicating that nonlinear pulse propagation and filamentation at high altitudes requires higher energy and a longer assisted focal length than sea level filamentation. A summary of pressure-scaled filament properties is also presented. New simulations demonstrate filamentation at pressures as low as 0.0035 atm (38.5 km altitude) is possible.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Dec 09, 2022
- Source ID
- 10.1038/s41598-022-19765-6
Entities
People
- Danielle Reyes
- Jessica Peña
- Martin Richardson
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Army Research Office