Thermal self-interaction of laser radiation in a KrF laser

A theoretical study was made of the spatial and temporal development of small-scale nonlinear optical inhomogeneities in KrF lasers. The dynamics of the heating of the active medium was investigated as a function of the laser radiation intensity. The nonlinear phase shift and the Strehl number were estimated in the constant-intensity approximation. An analysis was made of the stability of the laser beam against small perturbations of its transverse profile. The growth rates of the scattered radiation and the decay integrals were calculated.