Mechanism of laser-induced plasma shock wave evolution in air

A theoretical model is proposed to describe the mechanism of laser-induced plasma shock wave evolution in air. To verify the validity of the theoretical model, an optical beam deflection technique is employed to track the plasma shock wave evolution process. The theoretical model and the experimental signals are found to be in good agreement with each other. It is shown that the laser-induced plasma shock wave undergoes formation, increase and decay processes; the increase and the decay processes of the laser-induced plasma shock wave result from the overlapping of the compression wave and the rarefaction wave, respectively. In addition, the laser-induced plasma shock wave speed and pressure distributions, both a function of distance, are presented.