Spectral dependence of purely-Kerr-driven filamentation in air and argon

Abstract

Based on numerical simulations, we show that higher-order nonlinear indices (up to n8 and n10, respectively) of air and argon have a dominant contribution to both focusing and defocusing in the self-guiding of ultrashort laser pulses over most of the spectrum. Plasma generation and filamentation are therefore decoupled. As a consequence, ultraviolet wavelength may not be the optimal wavelength for applications requiring to maximize ionization. © 2010 The American Physical Society.