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Effect of Electron Temperature on Laser Beam Self-Focusing in Plasma with Density Ramp Profile
Niti Kant and Vishal Thakur

This theoretical study presents an investigation of the self-focusing of Gaussian laser beam under combined influence of electron temperature ramp and exponential plasma density ramp in plasma. Equation defining behaviour of the beam width parameter 𝑓 with the dimensionless distance of propagation 𝜉 is derived under WKB and paraxial approximation. Our results reveal that the electron temperature and the exponential plasma density ramps are combinedly responsible for enhancement of self-focusing of the laser beam. Further, strong self-focusing is noticed with higher electron temperature for a given plasma density.

Keywords: Plasma density ramp; electron temperature ramp; self-focusing; Gaussian laser beam