Transition from linear- to nonlinear-focusing regime of laser filament plasma dynamics

Abstract

Laser filament properties, including the plasma induced by the filamenting pulse in the medium, depend on the numerical aperture (NA) of the focusing optics used to create them. Recent studies of this dependence have revealed two distinct linear and non-linear filamentation regimes. High-resolution spatial and temporal electron density measurements are presented demonstrating the transition from the linear to nonlinear focusing regime. This study shows that the dominance of geometrical focusing in the linear (high NA) regime produces plasma with high peak densities and large plasma diameters, while filamentation in the nonlinear regime, equivalent to long distance filamentation, leads to low peak densities and small plasma diameters.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Aug 01, 2018
Source ID
10.1063/1.5027573

Entities

People

  • Danielle Reyes
  • Martin Richardson
  • Matthieu Baudelet
  • Shermineh Rostami Fairchild

Organizations

  • Army Research Office
  • Florida Institute of Technology
  • University of Central Florida
  • University of Central Florida College of Sciences

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.
  • Wave Propagation and Nonlinear Chaotic Dynamics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Microelectronics