title: Parametric instability in the formation of plasma waveguides.
abstract: Plasma waveguides generated by focusing a moderate intensity laser into neutral gas with an axicon lens can be unstable to the generation of axial modulations in the channel parameters. A model is proposed in which the modulations are due to the nonlinear coupling between the axicon field and a scattered mode in the evolving channel. Good agreement is found with experimental measurements of these modulations.
authors.affiliation: Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, NM 87545, USA.
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Cooley
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Antonsen
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Milchberg
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Margolin
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pyatnitskii