(1) Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Leninskii pr. 53, Moscow, 119991, Russia;(2) Institute of Atmospheric Optics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Akademicheskii pr. 1, Tomsk, 634055, Russia
Abstract:
The optogalvanic and optoacoustic methods are used to determine the mechanisms of the nonlinear absorption of intense ultraviolet femtosecond laser pulses in gaseous argon. An increase in the nonlinearity of the absorption process from 3 to 4 with an increase in the laser radiation intensity in the range 0.03–12 TW/cm2 is revealed. The possible physical mechanisms of this phenomenon are discussed.