Long-lived laser-induced microwave plasma guides in the atmosphere: Self-consistent plasma-dynamic analysis and numerical simulations

Abstract

A detailed model of plasma dynamics, which self-consistently integrates plasma-kinetic, Navier–Stokes, electron heat conduction, and electron-vibration energy transfer equations, is used to quantify the limitations on the lifetime of microwave plasma waveguides induced in the atmosphere through filamentation with high-intensity ultrashort laser pulses further sustained by long laser pulses. We demonstrate that a near-infrared or midinfrared laser pulse can tailor plasma decay in the wake of a filament, efficiently suppressing, through electron temperature increase, the attachment of electrons to neutral species and dissociative recombination, thus substantially increasing the plasma-guide lifetime and facilitating long-distance transmission of microwaves.