Two-dimensional effects in a tunnel ionized plasma

An intense short pulse laser of finite spot size propagating through a gas produces plasma via tunnel ionization on a femtosecond time scale. The radial profile of plasma density is strongly peaked on the axis and has a defocusing property. As electron density grows with time, the trailing part of t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Physics of plasmas 1997-08, Vol.4 (8), p.3040-3042
Main Authors: Parashar, Jetendra, Pandey, H. D., Tripathi, V. K.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:An intense short pulse laser of finite spot size propagating through a gas produces plasma via tunnel ionization on a femtosecond time scale. The radial profile of plasma density is strongly peaked on the axis and has a defocusing property. As electron density grows with time, the trailing part of the laser pulse suffers stronger divergence than the leading front, causing severe temporal distortion of the pulse. A self-consistent paraxial ray theory of electron density evolution and defocusing of the laser reveals that a square (in time) laser pulse, after propagating one Rayleigh length, has an order of magnitude difference in the axial intensity at the front and the tail of the pulse.
ISSN:1070-664X
1089-7674
DOI:10.1063/1.872438