Temporal characterization of heating in femtosecond laser filamentation with planar Rayleigh scattering

Temporal and spatial evolution of temperature in femtosecond laser filamentation is investigated using planar Rayleigh scattering combined with optical flow algorithm, the corresponding mechanism is analyzed. The temperature increases sharply with a characteristic time of 4.53μs and reach a maximum value of 418 K within 1∼10μs, then decreases slowly to around 300 K with a characteristic time of 136μs. While the temperature first diffuses rapidly in the radial direction and then diffuses very slowly, an obvious step is observed around 2μs. The mechanism of heat transfer is the result of energy exchange between electron and heavy particles and heat conduction. Within 1 ns to 10μs, molecules obtain energy continuously due to collision with electrons, which is much larger than the energy loss due to thermal conduction, leading to rise of gas temperature and the high-speed movement of the filament edges. After 10μs, thermal conduction becomes the dominant factor, resulting gas temperature decreasing and slower movement of the filament edges.