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PUBLICATIONS

Self-focused Light Propagation in a Fully Saturable Medium: Theory

Published

Author(s)

Marla L. Dowell, B D. Paul, Alan Gallagher, J W. Cooper

Abstract

We report observations of self-focusing and filamentation of ~3 ns laser pules in strontium (Sr) vapor. The expermental arrangement consits of a Sr vapor cell and a pulsed Nd:YAG pumped dye laser tuned to the blue of the 461 nm transition in Sr. The spatial intensity distribution of the self-focused beam has been measured at the exit window of the vapor cell by using a magnifying lens and video camera. Measurements of power dependence and scaling behavior for filament formation and shape are in good qualitative agreement with theory over a wide range of vapor densities, laser detunings, and laser powers.
Citation
Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics)
Volume
52
Issue
No. 4
Pub Type
Journals

Keywords

Gaussian beam propagation, Maxwell-Bloch equation, nonlinear optics, self-focused beams

Citation

Dowell, M. , Paul, B. , Gallagher, A. and Cooper, J. (1995), Self-focused Light Propagation in a Fully Saturable Medium: Theory, Physical Review A (Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics) (Accessed April 21, 2025)

Issues

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Created October 1, 1995, Updated February 17, 2017