Abstract
We show that filamentation initiated by quantum fluctuations is a process that limits the intensity of a laser beam that can propagate stably through a nonlinear optical medium. We also describe the experimental signatures of this process, which allow it to be distinguished from classical processes such as filamentation induced by wave-front irregularities.
- Received 30 August 1996
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.55.1412
©1997 American Physical Society