• Photonics Research
  • Vol. 13, Issue 6, 1691 (2025)
Yuezheng Wang1,2,†, Lu Sun1,2,†, Zhiwenqi An1,2, Zeliang Zhang1,2..., Zhi Zhang3, Nan Zhang1,2, Pengfei Qi1,2, Lie Lin1,2 and Weiwei Liu1,2,*|Show fewer author(s)
Author Affiliations
  • 1Institute of Modern Optics, Eye Institute, Nankai University, Tianjin 300350, China
  • 2Tianjin Key Laboratory of Micro-scale Optical Information Science and Technology, Tianjin 300350, China
  • 3School of Integrated Circuit Science and Engineering, Tianjin University of Technology, Tianjin 300384, China
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    DOI: 10.1364/PRJ.550756 Cite this Article Set citation alerts
    Yuezheng Wang, Lu Sun, Zhiwenqi An, Zeliang Zhang, Zhi Zhang, Nan Zhang, Pengfei Qi, Lie Lin, Weiwei Liu, "Polarization-dependent neutral nitrogen fluorescence induced by long-distance laser filamentation," Photonics Res. 13, 1691 (2025) Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Femtosecond laser filamentation has attracted significant attention due to its applications in remote sensing of atmospheric pollutants and artificial weather intervention. Nitrogen is the most abundant gas in the atmosphere, and its stimulated ultraviolet emission is remarkably clean, distinctly different from the fluorescence obtained through electron impact or laser breakdown. While numerous experiments and mechanism analyses have been conducted on its characteristic fluorescence excited by laser filamentation, they predominantly focused on short-distance filamentation (less than 1 m). Contrary to previous reports, we find that at long distances (30 m), the fluorescence intensity of neutral nitrogen molecules excited by linearly polarized laser pulses is approximately 7 times that excited by circularly polarized pulses with the same energy. This enhancement is caused by the enhanced tunneling ionization rate, 3.7 times that under circular polarization, and the elongated filament length, 1.85 times that under circular polarization, when using linear polarization. Additionally, after comparing existing theories for N2(C3Πu)) excitation, the dissociation-recombination model is found to be more appropriate for explaining the formation of N2(C3Πu)) excited states during long-distance filamentation.
    e+N2(X1Σg+)e+N2(C3Πu),

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    N2(C3Πu)N2(B3Πg)+hν.

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    N2+N2+N4+,

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    N4++eN2(C3Πu)+N2.

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    PADK=22nlω(IUp)nl+1/2exp[23(2Ip)3/2Up],

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    n2,liner=34Re(χxxxx(3))ε0cn02.

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    n2,circular=24Re(χxxxx(3))ε0cn02.

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    1/f=1/f+1/zf,

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    zf=0.36LDF[(Pin/Pcr)1/20.852]20.0219,

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    Pcr=3.77λ28πn2n0.

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    IP=0LPsegldl=Psg×gL=P×L,

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    Yuezheng Wang, Lu Sun, Zhiwenqi An, Zeliang Zhang, Zhi Zhang, Nan Zhang, Pengfei Qi, Lie Lin, Weiwei Liu, "Polarization-dependent neutral nitrogen fluorescence induced by long-distance laser filamentation," Photonics Res. 13, 1691 (2025)
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