Optically turbulent femtosecond light guide in air

The onset and recurrence of multiple light filaments during the long-distan ce propagation of intense femtosecond infrared pulses in air is shown to sh are features with strong turbulence in other physical systems. Here, howeve r, space-time collapse events drive the turbulence, and plasma defocusing, not dissipation, is the dominant mechanism regularizing the collapse.