Conical emission from laser–plasma interactions in the filamentation of powerful ultrashort laser pulses in air

We performed detailed experimental and numerical investigations of the conical emission (CE) accompanying the filamentation of powerful ultrashort laser pulses in air. It was found that the CE originates from self-phase modulation in the plasma produced by the pulse during propagation. The experiment and the simulation agree on the essential features of the CE: The CE angle decreases with increasing wavelength and is independent of the position along the filament, and there is no CE at Stokes-shifted wavelengths.