Dynamics of the ultrashort laser pulse in a capillary discharge-preformed argon plasma channel

We have observed guiding of 1016-W/cm2 ultrashort laser pulses in a discharge-produced plasma channel in an argon-gas-filled 1-cm long alumina (Al2O3) capillary. An optimum timing of the laser pulse injection was around 150 ns for the discharge with a peak current of 200 A at the discharge time 150 ns. One-dimensional magnetrohydrodynamic (MHD) code was used to evaluate the average degree of ionization of Ar in the preformed plasma channel. In the preformed plasma the averaged ion charge state of Ar3+ was obtained from the observed visible emission spectra and from the MHD simulation. The spectrum of the laser pulse in the preformed by the discharge argon plasma channel was not changed and was well reproduced in the particle-in-cell (PIC) simulation.

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