Interference of transverse rings in multifilamentation of powerful femtosecond laser pulses in air

We observe multiple filaments and interference of their ring structures in the propagation of 14 mJ, 45 fs infrared laser pulse in air. We suggest a simple physical model describing the formation and the interference of rings as the result of superposition of the background field of the whole beam and the fields that diverge from the filaments due to the defocusing in the laser-produced plasma. The size and the number of maxima in the interference pattern depend on the position of the filament formation along the direction of propagation. The simulated picture of the ring structure interference is in qualitative agreement with the one obtained from the experiment. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.