INTENSE LASER PULSE PROPAGATION AND STABILITY IN PARTIALLY STRIPPED PLASMAS

In a partially stripped plasma the presence of bound electrons can significantly alter the propagation and stability of intense laser pulses. In the presence of both free and bound electrons, an atomic modulation instability develops that can have a growth rate substantially higher than either the conventional relativistic modulational instability or the forward Raman instability. In addition, the filamentation instability can be significantly enhanced by bound electrons while the backward Raman instability is unaffected. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}