Role of dispersion in multiple-collapse dynamics

The multiple-collapse dynamics of ultrashort pulses along the propagation direction are investigated under conditions of both normal and anomalous group-velocity dispersion (GVD). In the anomalous-GVD regime we find that collapse events can occur at locations in the medium many diffraction lengths beyond the initial collapse point, in contrast with the normal-GVD regime in which multiple collapse occurs within a diffraction length. Numerical simulations of a modified nonlinear envelope equation are found to be in good qualitative agreement with the observed lengths of the filaments. (C) 2004 Optical Society of America.