Triggering filamentation using turbulence

TL;DR

This study investigates how turbulence can trigger single filament formation in laser beams below the filamenting power threshold, highlighting turbulence's role as a switch and its interaction with modulation instability.

Contribution

It experimentally demonstrates turbulence-induced filamentation and explores the interaction between modulation instability and turbulence in the single-filament regime.

Findings

Turbulence can trigger filamentation below the threshold power.

Turbulence acts as a switch for filament formation.

Off-axis filaments suggest modulation instability involvement.

Abstract

We study the triggering of single filaments due to turbulence in the beam path for a laser of power below the filamenting threshold. Turbulence can act as a switch between the beam not filamenting and producing single filaments. This 'positive' effect of turbulence on the filament probability, combined with our observation of off-axis filaments suggests the underlying mechanism is modulation instability caused by transverse perturbations. We hereby experimentally explore the interaction of modulation instability and turbulence, commonly associated with multiple-filaments, in the single-filament regime.