Reversibility of laser filamentation

• DOI: 10.1364/oe.22.021061
• Publication Date: 2014-08-22T18:59:01Z
• Authors: N. Berti; W. Ettoumi; J. Kasparian; J.-P. Wolf
• Keywords: info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/333.7-333.9; Nonlinear optics; FOS: Physical sciences; ddc:500.2; Self-action effects; Nonlinear Sciences - Chaotic Dynamics; 01 natural sciences; info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/500.2; Instabilities and chaos; Kerr effect; Pulse propagation and solitons.; 0103 physical sciences; Ultrafast nonlinear optics; Chaotic Dynamics (nlin.CD); Physics - Optics; Optics (physics.optics)

12 pages, 3 figures<br/>We investigate the reversibility of laser filamentation, a self-sustained, non-linear propagation regime including dissipation and time-retarded effects. We show that even losses related to ionization marginally affect the possibility of reverse propagating ultrashort pulses back to the initial conditions, although they make it prone to finite-distance blow-up susceptible to prevent backward propagation.<br/>