Plasma Generation by Laser Filamentation in Air

Streak cameras, with high-temporal resolution, are a powerful tool to image light propagation and plasma dynamics. Here, we present the image of a 2.2-TW peak power, 50-fs laser pulse, propagating in a nonlinear fashion over a distance of 1.3 m, leaving behind plasma. A direct measurement of the Rayleigh scattering of the pulse and the plasma emission are presented here.