Self-sustained plasma waveguide structures produced by ionizing laser radiation in a dense gas

摘要

The propagation of high-power laser radiation producing rapid ionization in a dense gas is analyzed by using a nonlinear electrodynamical model. It is shown that the interplay between the Kerr-type and the defocusing ionization nonlinearities may lead to the formation of self-sustained plasma waveguide filaments. Quasi-steady-state laser-plasma structures supported by various electromagnetic field configurations are considered.