Abstract
Multiple filamentation of an infrared high-power laser pulse in air is considered. Based on the numerical solution to the unidirectional pulse propagation equation, the effect of radiation external focusing on the spatial structure of the plasma area produced in the filamentation region is studied. We show that the number of generated plasma channels in the beam wake and the density of their spatial distribution over the filamentation region depend on the initial divergence of laser radiation. We found that in a specific range of beam focusing the number of produced plasma channels could be minimized due to the formation of a consolidated thick plasma bunch at the beam axis.
- Received 12 April 2016
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevA.93.063833
©2016 American Physical Society