Higher-order Kerr effect and harmonic cascading in gases

Abstract

The higher-order Kerr effect (HOKE) has been recently advocated to explain measurements of the saturation of the nonlinear refractive index in gases. Here we show that cascaded third-harmonic generation results in an effective fifth order nonlinearity that is negative and significant. Higher-order harmonic cascading will also occur from the HOKE, and the cascading contributions may significantly modify the observed nonlinear index change. At lower wavelengths cascading increases the HOKE saturation intensity, while for longer wavelengths cascading will decrease the HOKE saturation intensity.

Optics Letters, in press

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• Air nonlinear dynamics initiated by ultra-intense lambda-cubic THz pulses
• Harmonic generation and filamentation: when secondary radiations have primary consequences
• Nonlinear Wave Equation in Frequency Domain: Accurate Modeling of Ultrafast Interaction in Anisotropic Nonlinear Media
• Periodic and localized waves in parabolic-law media with third- and fourth-order dispersions
• Ab-initio calculations of laser-atom interactions reveal harmonics feedback during macroscopic propagation