Enhancement of multi-filament generation and filament-induced fluorescence by turbulence

Exploring the influence of atmospheric turbulence on remote sensing based on filament-induced fluorescence is still challenging. In this study, we applied artificial turbulence during remote filamentation and recorded the enhanced backward fluorescence of nitrogen. At the strongest turbulence, the nitrogen fluorescence signal was higher than that obtained when no turbulence was applied. The air turbulence introduces random noise in the laser profile, which is subsequently amplified by self-focusing effect and causes multiple filamentation. Moreover, by lowering the threshold for multiple filaments generation, turbulence led to an increase in the number of filaments, thereby enhancing fluorescence.

Automated summary

Exploring the influence of atmospheric turbulence on remote sensing based on filament-induced fluorescence remains challenging. This study applied artificial turbulence during remote filamentation and recorded the enhanced backward fluorescence of nitrogen. The results showed that the nitrogen fluorescence signal was higher in the presence of strong turbulence compared to no turbulence. The turbulence introduced random noise in the laser profile, which was amplified by the self-focusing effect, leading to multiple filamentation and enhancing fluorescence.