AbstractA nonparaxial investigation for propagation characteristics of q-Gaussian laser beam in rippled density plasma is studied by considering the relativistic nonlinearity. The field distribution in the medium is expressed in terms of q parameter and beam width parameter f. Nonlinear parabolic partial differential equation governing the evolution of complex envelope in slowly varying approximation is solved in a modulated density profile. Analytical theory of self-focusing including higher order terms in the expansion of dielectric function up to fourth order is developed and the variation of beam width parameter f with the distance of propagation for different parameters is studied. One may note that increased value of density ripple, laser intensity and depth of modulation, increases self-focusing whereas a lower value of q shows strong self-focusing. A comparative study between paraxial and nonparaxial study has also conducted. This study is useful for research in high energy density physics.
Resonant third harmonic generation of super-Gaussian laser beam in a rippled density plasma