Plasma-Induced Asymmetric Self-Phase Modulation and Modulational Instability in Gas-Filled Hollow-Core Photonic Crystal Fibers

We study theoretically the propagation of relatively long pulses with ionizing intensities in a hollow-core photonic crystal fiber filled with a Raman-inactive noble gas. Because of photoionization, an extremely asymmetric self-phase modulation and a new kind of "universal" plasma-induced modulational instability appear in both normal and anomalous dispersion regions. We also show that it is possible to spontaneously generate a plasma-induced continuum of blueshifting solitons, opening up new possibilities for pushing supercontinuum generation towards shorter and shorter wavelengths