Title :
Laser-induced water condensation in air
Author :
Kasparian, Jérôme ; Rohwetter, Philipp ; Stelmaszczyk, Kamil ; Hao, Zuoqiang ; Henin, Stefano ; Lascoux, Noëlle ; Nakaema, Walter M. ; Petit, Yannick ; Queisser, Manuel ; Salamé, Rami ; Salmon, Estelle ; Wöste, Ludger ; Wolf, Jean-Pierre
Author_Institution :
GAP, Univ. de Geneve, Genève, Switzerland
Abstract :
We demonstrate that water cloud condensation can be induced in the free, sub-saturated atmosphere by self-guided ionized filaments generated by ultrashort laser pulses. Filaments result from a dynamic balance between Kerr focusing, and defocusing by both the free electrons released at the non-linear focus and the saturation of the Kerr effect. Their robustness allows them to propagate efficiently through perturbed atmospheres, allowing atmospheric applications like lightning control.
Keywords :
atmospheric light propagation; condensation; laser beam applications; optical Kerr effect; optical focusing; optical saturation; water; H2O; Kerr defocusing; atmospheric applications; free electrons; laser-induced water condensation; lightning control; nonlinear focusing; nonlinear saturation; perturbed atmospheres; self-guided ionized filaments; subsaturated atmosphere; ultrashort laser pulses; Atmosphere; Atmospheric measurements; Chemical lasers; Clouds; Free electron lasers; Humidity; Measurement by laser beam;
Conference_Titel :
Lasers and Electro-Optics Europe (CLEO EUROPE/EQEC), 2011 Conference on and 12th European Quantum Electronics Conference
Conference_Location :
Munich
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4577-0533-5
Electronic_ISBN :
Pending
DOI :
10.1109/CLEOE.2011.5943024
