Filamentation of femtosecond laser pulse influenced by the air turbulence at various propagation distances

Abstract

The spatial and temporal features of femtosecond laser filamentation, which are induced by a laser with power several times higher than the critical power, influenced by strong air turbulence at various propagation distances have been studied numerically. First, a strong turbulence occurring right before focal lens induces a few counter-balanced energy spikes which prevent the filament generation. Second, with the turbulence right before the filamentation, side filaments formed in the periphery towards the outside area leads the filament to be slightly short. Third, with the turbulence right after the lens, numerous energy spikes of the wave profile arise, but they will merge into one filament gradually, leading to a delayed filamentation onset and a shorter filamentation length. The deformation of temporal pulse shape become more sensitive and the supercontinuum (SC) can be weakened more significantly when strong turbulence takes place in air more previously.