High-intensity laser guiding in a plasma: amplitude modulation effects

We investigate the guiding of a high-intensity laser beam in a plasma incorporating the laser amplitude modulation effects. A laser filament with modulated amplitude propagates through a plasma. The laser filament perturbs the plasma density, deriving the plasma nonlinearity. Plasma equilibrium density is modified due to ohmic heating of electrons, collisions, and relativistic effects during the interaction of the laser beam with plasmas. The amplitude modulation of laser filament affects the distribution of plasma density, and thus, the plasma nonlinearity is modified significantly. The results of this work show a significant improvement in laser guiding due to amplitude modulation effects. For current laser-plasma parameters, about 25% laser intensity enhancement is seen through this study. This may be applicable for information transfer during laser interaction with a plasma.