Heidelberg 2015 – scientific programme
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Q: Fachverband Quantenoptik und Photonik
Q 53: Ultrashort Laser Pulses I
Q 53.1: Talk
Thursday, March 26, 2015, 11:00–11:15, K/HS2
Observation of pulse dynamics and self-compression along a filament — •Martin Kretschmar1, Carsten Brée2, Tamas Nagy1,3, Ayhan Demircan1, Heiko G. Kurz1, Uwe Morgner1, and Milutin Kovacev1 — 1Leibniz Universität Hannover, Institut für Quantenoptik, Hannover — 2Weierstrass-Institut für angewandte Analysis und Stochastik, Berlin — 3Laser-Laboratorium Göttingen, Göttingen
Filaments emerge when the focusing nature of the Kerr-effect is counteracted by plasma-defocusing, leading to the formation of a long, high-intensity propagation region. Complex spatio-temporal dynamics taking place during the filamentation process strongly influence the propagating pulse. Here, we report on the direct experimental observation of pulse-splitting dynamics along a femtosecond filament. The pulse experiences a significant self-shortening during the propagation, leading to pulse durations of 5.3 fs. The pulses are measured without external pulse compression. A compression factor of eight is achieved in a single filamentary stage. Theoretical modeling of the fundamental pulse propagation confirms our experimental observations and gives further insight into the nonlinear dynamics occuring along a filament.