Carrier-envelope phase-dependent electronic conductivity in an air filament driven by few-cycle laser pulses

Abstract

The modulation of the electron conductivity in an air filament, which is produced by carrier-envelope phase (CEP) stabilized 7-fs laser pulses, is realized experimentally. Numerical results based on a coupled 3D+1 generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation including the real electric-field dependent ionization model are in good agreement with those from the experiment. It is demonstrated that the CEP effect on the electron density originates from the CEP-induced modification of the electric field of the laser pulse, and this modification is amplified during nonlinear propagation. The results provide important information to help understand the physical mechanism of the filaments driven by few-cycle femtosecond laser pulses.