飞秒激光成丝现象已经开创了从纯物理到应用研究的许多新的科学研究领域,其中包括源于量子和经典物理的多个应用研究。飞秒光丝中的新现象,例如激光强度钳制效应、空气激光、粒子数捕获、分子排列、分子超激发态、光丝诱导降雪、光丝化学等等,开辟了令人振奋的、多学科交叉新领域。激光强度钳制效应是一个复杂的物理现象,结果可以形成一个非常稳定的相互作用状态。粒子数束缚、分子排列、转动及其周期性可被用于脉冲太赫兹辐射的远程探测。光丝中的空气激光现象看起来像是一种新的激发机制,例如,光丝中激光强度可以把氮气和二氧化碳分子激发到一种粒子数反转的状态。与此同时,这种光丝诱导激光现象(或粒子数反转)在空气中“污染分子”形成的分子碎片中也被观察到。利用单一激光,通过探测特征荧光来远程识别污染物、气体或者固体样品已经至少在原理上得到证实。光丝诱导沉积现象已经在云室中变成现实。最后讨论了光丝研究领域未来的挑战以及光丝化学为光丝研究提供的一个新的机遇。

Femtosecond laser filamentation has opened up many frontiers of science, both pure and applied. It encompasses applications due to both quantum and classical physics. Phenomena such as Intensity clamping, lasing in air and in pollutants, population trapping, molecular alignment, super-excitation of molecules, filament induced snow fall, filamentation chemistry, etc. open up a new stimulating multidisciplinary playground. Intensity clamping is a profound phenomenon which could lead to very stable interaction consequences. Population trapping and molecular alignment, rotation and revival can be applied to remote detection of pulsed THz radiation. Lasing in an air filament seems to rely upon a new scheme of exciting a simple molecule such as N2 and CO2 into a state of population inversion. Lasing (or population inversion) from fragmented pollutant molecules inside an air filament was observed. The characteristic fluorescence from many pollutants, gaseous or solid could be detected remotely using only one laser, at least in principle. Filament induced precipitation inside a cloud chamber becomes a reality. Challenges in the future will be discussed at the end. Filamentation chemistry is a promising new direction for application.