Abstract
A laser beam propagating in an underdense plasma undergoes relativistic self focusing and self-channeling, arising from the relativistic and charge-displacement mechanisms, as soon as its total power P exceeds the critical value Pcr= 16.2(ω0/ωp)2 GW. This as been established both theoretically [1] and experimentaly for laser pulses duration in the range of 400-500 fs [2]. Stability analysis against azimuthal perturbations of the propagation of an intense short pulse governed by relativistic and charge-displacement self-channeling non linearities have been recently examined[3]. The propagation, when P>Pcr, is considered as stable when it leads to a single main channel wich contains "30%-50% of the incident power P. Conversely the regime of strong filamentation (unstable) is caracterized by the formation of multiple channels each containing a power of approximately Per. The location of the domains of stability of the propagation of hyper-Gaussien beams are established in terms of two parameters, ρo=(ωpo.ro/c and η= Po/Pcr where ρo is the focal spot radius, ωpo is the unperturbed plasma frequency and c the speed of light. Far above threshold the formation of self generated magnetized light channels, due to a strong current of relativistic electrons and the coalescence of channels are also predicted [4].
© 1996 Optical Society of America
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