Vortices in the wake of a femtosecond laser filament.
We report on the experimental observation of fluid flow caused by propagation of femtosecond filaments in dry air. We find that the ionization of the medium deposits a non-negligible amount of heat, which creates vortices in a semi-confined glass cylinder. We confirm the influence of thermal gradients on vortex formation by the use of a heated wire in a similar configuration.
Anton
A
Ryabtsev
Shahram
S
Pouya
Manoochehr
M
Koochesfahani
Marcos
M
Dantus
D004867:Equipment Design; D005898:Glass / Q000737:chemistry*; D007834:Lasers; D008027:Light; D036103:Nanotechnology / Q000379:methods*; D055095:Optics and Photonics; D013499:Surface Properties