Higher order long-wave infrared Bessel beams generating tubular plasma waveguides in the atmosphere

Abstract

We numerically investigate the nonlinear propagation of long-wavelength, higher order Bessel pulses in the atmosphere. We show that 10 micron higher order Bessel beams can generate more homogeneous plasma channels than their 800 nm counterparts. We utilize 4th-order 10.23 μm Bessel wavepackets to create tunable transient plasma tubes in air, and show that they are well suited for the guiding of THz radiation with exceptionally low losses.