2016/07/19 by J. Doussot, Doussot, J., Γαβριήλ Καρράς +7
Chemistry · Engineering · Physics and Astronomy · #FOS: Physical sciences #Laser Design and Applications #Laser-Matter Interactions and Applications #Optics (physics.optics) #Spectroscopy and Laser Applications
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1607.05476
openalex publication_date 2016/07/19 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
In this Letter, a low-loss Kerr-driven optical filament in Krypton gas is experimentally reported in the ultraviolet. The experimental findings are supported by ab initio quantum calculations describing the atomic optical response. Higher-order Kerr effect induced by three-photon resonant transitions is identified as the underlying physical mechanism responsible for the intensity stabilization during the filamentation process, while ionization plays only a minor role. This result goes beyond the commonly-admitted paradigm of filamentation, in which ionization is a necessary condition of the filament intensity clamping. At resonance, it is also experimentally demonstrated that the filament length is greatly extended because of a strong decrease of the optical losses.