title: Guiding of intense laser pulses in plasma waveguides produced from efficient, femtosecond end-pumped heating of clustered gases.
abstract: We demonstrate intense pulse guiding in efficient femtosecond end-pumped waveguides generated in clustered gases. This novel scheme provides a route to significantly lower on-axis plasma density (< 10(18) cm(-3)) more than is feasible in conventional hydrodynamic plasma waveguides. Self-focused propagation and strong absorption of intense femtosecond laser pulses are used to produce long centimeter scale channels in an argon cluster jet, and a subsequent pulse is guided with 3 x 10(17) W cm(-2) intensity and approximately 50% coupling efficiency. Preliminary results with hydrogen clusters also show guiding.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Physical Science and Technology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland 20742, USA.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kumarappan
authors.forename: K Y
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Milchberg