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Relativistic and ponderomotive effects on evolution of laser beam in a non-uniform plasma channel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 January 2010

T.S. Gill*
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India
R. Mahajan
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India
R. Kaur
Affiliation:
Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: T.S. Gill, Department of Physics, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar 143005, India. E-mail: gillsema@yahoo.co.in

Abstract

The nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation governing the evolution of the complex envelope in the slowly varying envelope approximation is solved using the variational approach. The basic nonlinear phenomena of relativistic and ponderomotive self-focusing in a plasma channel are taken into account. Self-focusing, self-phase modulation as well as self-trapping of laser beam is studied in a variety of situations. Further, in the absence of dissipation mechanisms, the stability of the beam is also studied.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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References

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