Filamentation in laser produced plasma for controlled thermonuclear fusion

Numerical studies of beam filamentation in laser produced plasma are presented. This involves the numerical solution of the parabolic Schroedinger equation, coupled with the thermal transport equations for ions and electrons, in two dimensions. The solution of the resulting equation with nonlinear refractive index due to thermal and ponderomotive forces, shows self-focusing and a variety of strong aberration effects. Intensity amplification at the final focus is found to be between one and two orders of magnitude greater than the initial beam intensity, governed by diffraction and aberration effects within the beam.