Self-focusing of cosh-Gaussian laser beam in a plasma with weakly relativistic and ponderomotive regime

This paper presents an investigation of the self-focusing of cosh-Gaussian laser beam in a plasma with linear absorption taking into account the combined effects of relativistic and ponderomotive type nonlinearities. Nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation governing the evolution of complex envelope in slowly varying envelope approximation is solved using variational approach. Self-focusing and self-phase modulation as well as self-trapping of cosh-Gaussian beam are studied at various values of decentered parameter b, with different absorption levels k'(i). Numerical analysis shows that these parameters play vital role on propagation characteristics. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3570663]