Theory of self-focusing in a hollow waveguide

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Abstract
We present a theoretical investigation of self-focusing in a hollow waveguide filled with noble gas. Our analysis was performed for a laser pulse that was predominantly in the fundamental mode and revealed the physical processes involved in self-focusing in a hollow waveguide. A critical power for self-focusing was obtained that was found to be substantially higher than the critical power for self-focusing in a bulk medium. Useful design criteria for pulse-compression systems are presented. We identify the parameter range for which the transverse variation of the pulse phase introduced by the Kerr nonlinearity is small.