Abstract
We have observed transverse pattern formation leading to highly regular structures in both the near and far fields when a near-resonant laser beam propagates without feedback through an atomic sodium vapor. One example is a regular far-field honeycomb pattern, which results from the transformation of the laser beam within the vapor into a stable three-lobed structure with a uniform phase distribution and highly correlated power fluctuations. The predictions of a theoretical model of the filamentation process are in good agreement with these observations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 4 |
| Number of pages | 1 |
| Journal | Physical Review Letters |
| Volume | 88 |
| Issue number | 11 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2002 |
| Externally published | Yes |