title: Honeycomb pattern formation by laser-beam filamentation in atomic sodium vapor.
abstract: We have observed transverse pattern formation leading to highly regular structures in both the near and far fields when a near-resonant laser beam propagates without feedback through an atomic sodium vapor. One example is a regular far-field honeycomb pattern, which results from the transformation of the laser beam within the vapor into a stable three-lobed structure with a uniform phase distribution and highly correlated power fluctuations. The predictions of a theoretical model of the filamentation process are in good agreement with these observations.
authors.affiliation: The Institute of Optics, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York 14627, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Bennink
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Alberto M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Marino
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Aronstein
authors.forename: Robert W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Stroud
authors.forename: Svetlana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lukishova
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Gauthier