Femtosecond continua produced in gases

Abstract
Self-focusing and continuum generation are explored in gases using ultrashort 625 nm pulses. With large f-number optics, we observe reconstruction of the spatial profile of a diffraction-limited beam which has self-focused even though the beam experiences severe spectral modifications. Conical emission originating from the prefocal region is also seen.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye