Propagation of intense catastrophe beams in air

This study uses numerical simulations to investigate the propagation of intense catastrophe beams in air. Our focus was on beams with high intensity below 1 x 1014 W/cm2, which can cause the ionization of neutral atoms in air and create plasma paths. Due to the interaction between the Kerr effect, the self-focusing property of the catastrophe beam, and the defocusing caused by plasma, the propagation dynamics of the beam become very complicated. We analyzed three types of catastrophe beams with inward or outward main rings: ring Airy, ring Pearcey, and ring swallowtail. Additionally, our study also examined how these three self-focusing beams carrying orbital angular momentum behave in a plasma medium. (c) 2024 Optica Publishing Group