Optical rogue wave statistics in laser filamentation

J. Kasparian (1) , P. Béjot (1) , J.-P. Wolf (1) , J.M. Dudley (2)

1 GAP - Group of Applied Physics [Geneva]
2 FEMTO-ST - Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174)

We experimentally observed optical rogue wave statistics during high power femtosecond pulse filamentation in air. We characterized wavelength-dependent intensity fluctuations across 300 nm broadband filament spectra generated by pulses with several times the critical power for filamentation. We show how the statistics vary from a near-Gaussian distribution in the vicinity of the pump to a long tailed “L-shaped” distribution at the short wavelength and long wavelength edges. The results are interpreted in terms of pump noise transfer via self-phase modulation.

Domaines: Optique / photonique; Optique [physics.optics]

J. Kasparian, P. Béjot, J.-P. Wolf, J.M. Dudley. Optical rogue wave statistics in laser filamentation. Optics Express, 2009, 17 (14), pp.12070-12075. ⟨10.1364/OE.17.012070⟩. ⟨hal-00453042⟩