Strong Enhancement of Terahertz Radiation from Laser Filaments in Air by a Static Electric Field

Aurélien Houard (1) , Yi Liu (1) , Bernard Prade (1) , Vladimir Tikhonchuk (2) , André Mysyrowicz (1)

1 LOA - Laboratoire d'optique appliquée
2 CELIA - Centre d'Etudes Lasers Intenses et Applications

We observe a 3 order of magnitude enhancement of the terahertz energy radiated by a femtosecond pulse undergoing filamentation in air in the presence of a static electric field. Measurements of terahertz pulse duration, spectrum, polarization, and radiation pattern elucidate the physical processes responsible for this radiation. A theoretical model explains the results and predicts another 3 orders of magnitude enhancement with a terawatt laser pulse.

Keywords: filamentation; laser; nonlinear optics; plasma; terahertz

Domains: Physics [physics]; Physics [physics]; Optics [physics.optics]

Aurélien Houard, Yi Liu, Bernard Prade, Vladimir Tikhonchuk, André Mysyrowicz. Strong Enhancement of Terahertz Radiation from Laser Filaments in Air by a Static Electric Field. Physical Review Letters, 2008, 100 (25), pp.255006. ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.255006⟩. ⟨hal-00455124⟩