Thermokinetic processes induced by laser radiation in chemically active gaseous media

An experimental investigation was made of some features of the formation of temperature and concentration fields in chemically active systems interacting with laser radiation due to a feedback between "chemical" and thermal, and also between concentration and thermal degrees of freedom of the system, which occurs during laser irradiation. Nonlinear optical effects (self-focusing and defocusing) during propagation of laser radiation in media having a slow-response chemical nonlinearity were observed. Strong enrichment of the gas mixture in the laser beam by one of the components was also observed.