Self-focusing of CW Laser Beam with Variable Radius in Rubidium Atomic Vapor

TL;DR

This study investigates how continuous-wave laser beams self-focus in rubidium vapor, revealing a steep increase in threshold power for small beam radii and aligning with existing theoretical models.

Contribution

It provides experimental validation of theoretical predictions on self-focusing thresholds in rubidium vapor for variable beam sizes.

Findings

Threshold power increases steeply for beam radii less than 30 μm.

Experimental results agree with Semak and Shneider's 2013 theory.

Suggests further experiments in resonance and transparent media.

Abstract

Self-focusing of a cw laser beam in rubidium atomic vapor was studied. The beam power and beam spot size at entrance of a glass cell with the rubidium vapor were variable parameters. A steep grow of the threshold power of self-focusing for the small beam radii (< 30 {\mu}m) was observed. Our experimental data are in an agreement with the theoretical results published by Semak and Shneider in 2013. Additional experiments in resonance and transparent media are suggested in order to check and extend our measurements.