Diffraction-Ray Optics of Femtosecond Laser Pulses Propagating in Air Under the Influence of the Normal Group Velocity Dispersion

Results of theoretical study of the femtosecond Ti:Sa laser pulse propagation in air under the influence of the normal group velocity dispersion are presented. The use of the diffraction-ray tube method for an analysis of numerical solutions of the nonlinear Schrodinger equation in chromatic dispersion medium with the Kerr and plasma nonlinearity makes it possible to determine the main regularities of the femtosecond laser pulse selffocusing and filamentation in air for various pulse durations, initial beam radii, and peak powers. It is shown that under the influence of the group velocity dispersion, the filamentation terminates with an increase in the initial radius of the laser beam even at high values of supercritical powers. With an increase in the dispersion distortions of the pulse, the radius of the energetically replenishing diffraction-ray tube, the angular divergence of the post-filamentation light channel, and the nonlinear focus coordinate normalized to the Rayleigh length increase in the central time slices of the laser pulse and its integral pattern.